


Bats and Brooms: The Luna Nova Fast Pitch Witches

by superevilbadguy



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Artwork Originally Posted on Tumblr, BUT HERE I CAN DO BOTH!, Coming Out, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Friendship/Love, Lots of blushing, Many relationships- different stages, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Slow Burn, Softball AU, diamanda brotp, gym bros andrew and frank, language...i apologize...though its not different from what you actually hear in high school, no magic but plenty of references to canon, so many puns... oh god so many puns, useless lesbian and useless bi solidarity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-01-06 11:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 151,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18387947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superevilbadguy/pseuds/superevilbadguy
Summary: HS Softball AU: After years of recreational teams, Akko Kagari and her best friends try out for the Luna Nova Witches softball team. While she knew it was going to be a learning experience, she didn't realize just how much she didn't know.





	1. Tryouts- Do Your Base-T!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everybody! This is a completed story already on FFN that I had been intending to move over to AO3 for archival reasons as well as the image support! So, if this is your first time reading, welcome! And if you've seen this silly little story already, thank you for giving it a read! I haven't changed much in the transfer.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is day one of tryouts for the Luna Nova Witches softball team. To achieve her dream of being like ex-pro ball player, Chariot DuNord, Atsuko Kagari pushes herself to her limits and works to keep her eyes on the prize.

 

"Let's go ladies! Three more minutes!"

The slap and squeak of sneakers on lacquered wood flooring rings throughout the gymnasium.

"Remember! Pace yourself! This is an exercise in stamina!" Coach Meridies, the head of the Luna Nova Witches High School JV softball team yells out as she looks at the current leader of the group of girls: one red-faced, wind-sucking, Atsuko Kagari.

Despite the reminder of the purpose of the run and the dark fuzz slowly creeping from the borders of her vision, she pumps her legs pushing herself just a little further. That is until her right foot makes contact with the rogue shoelace that had been slowly escaping its knot on her left foot. The resulting sound of the Japanese girl falling face first into the floor echoes through the room and is soon followed by the rhythmic jog of the rest of the team catching up then passing her. The first time JV assistant coach and Akko's English teacher, Ursula Callistis, looks at her fallen pupil with a worried expression.

"You alright Akko?" She calls out across the gym.

The girl in question begins pushing herself up as her two friends, Lotte and Sucy, who had been trailing at the end of the pack, help pull her back on to her feet.

"I-I'm good!" Akko calls back a little dizzy.

Once she regains her footing, Akko looks abashedly towards her friends. "Thanks, you guys."

"It's fine, you falling on your face more than makes up for forcing us to try out for this team with you." Sucy, the pink haired chemistry extraordinaire says as she removes Akko's arm from her shoulder.

"Sucy!" Lotte, the sweetheart redhead with glasses that take up most of her face, chides as she attempts to catch her breath from the run. "You sure you're okay Akko? Do you need a second?"

The brunette girl shakes her head violently, getting back in the zone. Her eyes once again igniting with determination.

"No way! We gotta catch up!" Akko bends down rushing to tie her shoelace before taking off, dragging her friends beside her.

A sharp sizzling pain greets her at every pump of her legs and as she looks down past her Luna Nova High School navy shorts she sees red scrapes painted across her knees.

_Ah man._

She looks back up just in time to bump into a blonde and tea-green ponytail and to step on the heel of it's wearer's shoe.

"Woah woah I'm sorry! I -"

"Watch where you're going!" The dark-haired girl next to the stumbling blonde sneers.

The blonde turns around with a neutral expression as she adjusts her shoe.

"It's fine Barbara, it was an accident." Her blue eyes glance up towards the brunette's red ones. "Though I do hope you usually have more awareness on the field."

Akko puffs her cheeks, unsure of how to follow suit.

_This was... Diana... right? We have...maaaa- bio together? She's like, super smart. I didn't really see her as a sports person._

Her attempt at recognition, despite successful, is interrupted as the blonde turns away and begins jogging off after the rest of the group.

"You should get to the coach and get your knees cleaned up." She calls over her shoulder before refocusing in front of her.

"See ya, bench." The dark-haired girl, Barbara, says as she follows after Diana.

With a roll of her eyes, Akko huffs and continues jogging alongside Lotte and Sucy.

"I'll show them who's benched..." she mumbles under her breath.

A whistle rings through the gym.

"Two minutes ladies!" Coach Meridies cries out.

Akko then audibly groans as she attempts to wipe away the sweat from her stinging knees.

"Akko, c'mon, let's get over to Coach C. to look at your knees. "Lotte says motioning over to the two coaches.

"No, I'm fine. Really. I'm gonna prove I can do it!" Akko says through ragged breaths.

_Can't stop now. Two minutes. Two. Minutes. Then I'll ask Professor Callistis for a band-aid._

She looks down at her knees once more.

_Maybe more than one band-aid._

She looks back up at the group of girls running in front of her, her eyes follow Diana as she weaves her way back towards the center with Barbara close behind. Barbara, however, veers away from her course and aggressively bumps into Amanda, (by far, the most outspoken member of Akko's friend group), pushing her away from the auburn-haired girl she always spends her time with, Hannah. Amanda catches herself from the shove and laughs as she begins running backwards saying something to the two. Akko is unable hear what was said, but she sees Barbara's hand ball into a fist before Amanda winks, turns, and runs to the front of the group.

The stinging in her legs fade as she begins focusing on counting her breaths to the pounding of feet. Distractions are good.

She looks over to Lotte and Sucy. Lotte was wiping her glasses on her shirt between strides after they had fogged up. Her askew headband, heaving breaths, beet red face, and sweat drenched t-shirt gives Akko the idea that maybe Lotte actually needed the moment to rest that she had offered to her. Akko guiltily slows her pace, much to the redhead's relief.

Sucy on the other hand, shows no sign of fatigue. Straight faced, not a bead of sweat, and the most controlled breathing Akko swears she has ever seen. She wonders if it has anything to do with conditioning from the masks she wears in chem lab. Is there conditioning to wear those things? She doubts it but can't imagine what else it could be.

"Thanks... for doing this with me." She huffs through a smile. "It really means a lot."

"Of course, Akko." Lotte smiles up at her as she breathes heavy, glasses already refilling with a foggy mist. "You know we're here for you."

"Mhm." Sucy nods. "Even though your dream to be like a college softball player is pretty dumb."

"Excuse you. Chariot DuNord was the greatest shortstop to have EVER. LIVED."

"I seriously doubt that."

"Humph!" Akko begins running a little faster, out of the immediate presence of the Chariot DuNaysayer.

Ever since the six-year-old version of herself hit her first wiffle ball with the handle of her mother's broom, Akko Kagari had fallen in love with the sport of softball. She and her father would watch professional ball games on television together, but little Akko had always preferred to watch college games.

While she couldn't truly decide which league she found more impressive; the plays, hits, and unlikely comebacks challenging each other in an unending, unintentional rivalry; Akko feels, and maybe it's just her imagination, that minor league and college teams play with a little more risk and creativity.

She is awed by the players that are still learning, still challenging their newly discovered limits, and she loves seeing the feats built from their hard work on their journey to prove themselves among both a team and as individual athletes. They still have dreams of making it to major league teams, and this dream is reflected in every play, be it ending in success or failure. They lay out their hopes and push to raise their potential on the field.

Watching major league games reminds her of how amazing the best of the best are, but watching college games remind her that no matter how good she is, (which for her may be a debatable term at the moment) that she is still learning and more than willing to put her all into every play. Even if she may not make it to any major league softball team (hey it could happen!) her dream to inspire others to do their best, to surprise even themselves, will drive her forward.

In her younger years, Akko had played on recreational softball teams. She was, for arguments sake, not the best player on the team. Though she did hold the self-proclaimed record for most ripped pant knees (which she somehow associated with dedication), the coach and rest of the team held her to relatively low standards. But still she tried! She had fun! And she learned how to throw pretty darn okay! But most of all, she wanted nothing more than to get better.

After yet another discouragingly rough day at the batting cages, (where the cages got a better workout hitting balls than Akko's bat did) she came home to her father watching a college softball game. The Polaris University Bears vs. The Rastavan University Dragons. Bottom of the seventh, Bears up by one and the Dragons up at bat, one out, players on first and third. The batter had been lucky, or maybe the Dragons had some connection to the umpire, whichever it was, they had one foul and two balls, at least one of which that should have been a strike. The pitcher wound up and threw one of the most perfect pitches Akko had ever seen. The batter swung (if they hadn't, Akko would have screamed), and halted to a bunt causing the ball to jump in a low arc. Suddenly a blur of red shot from behind the pitcher- Number 7, Chariot DuNord, second year shortstop, dove to catch the ball mere inches from the ground.

She catches it as she curls her body, falling into a forward roll, comes out of it up on one knee, and throws the ball to get the third out on first base. ALL IN A SINGLE MOTION. As the team swarmed her the camera passed over Chariot's face as she goes from disbelief to the full realization of the wild play she just made. Akko watched the television slack-jawed. On the screen, though impossible to hear over the crowd and announcer, she could see Chariot yelling through a huge smile. That day had been the first day Akko had sworn in front of her father.

From then on she had become an avid fan of the Bears, but more so of Chariot. She would watch every game on television and for her birthday, her parents took a road trip to Polaris University to take her to a home game. Akko had been so excited, she doesn't remember sitting once through the entirety of the game. Watching Chariot play live made her want to work as hard as she could to better herself as a softball player. Her dream is to be a great enough player to inspire others to to work hard to strive for their best, just as Chariot had inspired her.

She had followed Chariot's athletic career through the rest of her time in Polaris University, still pulling off amazing plays, though none quite as impressive as her DuNord "Dive-roll" (as Akko affectionately coined it).

Once she graduated, Chariot had been scouted for a major league team. Unfortunately, two games into the season there was a horrible accident. She had slid into third incorrectly due to a divot on the field and was violently jerked off course, coupled with the third baseman being knocked off balance and falling onto her legs. She had torn her ACL, shattered her left kneecap and had a spiral fracture of the tibia on the same leg. She was rushed out of the stadium unconscious and was never seen on the field again.

Rumors flew about her departure, from her dying from a botched surgery to fix her leg, to doctors finding traces of performance enhancement in her blood work and the team owner making a deal to cover it up, and the most outrageous she heard was that she was seen moving away to some country farm raising alpacas. Akko didn't believe any of the rumors, she's not sure where Chariot had gone to, but she knows she couldn't be dead, or a cheater, or raising alpacas. She couldn't be.

"Thirty seconds!" Coach Meridies calls out, eyes on her stopwatch.

Akko suddenly snaps out of her thoughts of Chariot, and with a renewed vigor, tries to re-focus on the task at hand.

_Almost there! Just a little longer! This is the first step!_

She looks towards the group of her potential teammates and starts pushing her legs just a little bit harder.

As she tries to control her breathing from the increased pace, she finds herself unintentionally focusing on the slight dampness on the back of Diana's t-shirt causing the light fabric to stick to her mid back. Each pump of her arms tug the shirt in such a way stretching the fabric taut against her sides. Akko's eyes then trailed a little lower...

_Dear God. How many squats does she do? I have got to start doing more squats. Note to me. Do more squats._

She is thrown back into reality by the blow of the whistle. With her focus on, uh… glistening sweat dripping down toned legs broken (yeah), the pain of the sweaty, stingy, bloody mess that are her own legs floods back to the forefront of her mind.

She, Lotte, and Sucy make their way towards Coach Callistis, who had been waiting with a wet towel and first aid kit on hand.

As Akko wipes the blood and sweat from the scrapes with the help of Coach Callistis, Coach Meridies directs the rest of the girls to stretch out before moving forward.

"Here, put this on before placing the bandages." The older woman says as she hands the brunette a packet of pain-relief ointment.

"Thank you, Professor." Akko says taking and opening the packet.

"Of course!" She smiles before looking up towards Lotte and Sucy standing by. "Why don't you girls grab yourselves a drink before continuing. It's important to stay hydrated."

"Yes Coach." Lotte nods, still slightly winded from the run. She jogs over to the bleachers, grabs her water bottle, and quickly returns to Akko and Sucy's sides. After taking a swig, she shoots a stream of water into Akko's open, waiting mouth, and then offers the bottle to Sucy.

"I'm fine." She insists.

"Impressive dive, Kagari. However, it's a little silly to dive for a ball on a wood floor… when there is no ball." The head coach says with a cheeky smile, heading over to the girl beginning to place her bandages.

Ursula rolls her eyes. "C'mon Croix, knock it off."

The woman raises her hands in surrender before stopping in front of them. "Seriously though, you okay kid? You got up alright, but that was a nasty fall."

"I'm fine," Akko says wincing as she shapes the last bandage to her knee. "I just tripped. No way that'll stop me!" She looks up smiling confidently.

"Well that's good. I hope it doesn't become a habit."

"No promises." Lotte and Sucy say in unison as they pull Akko up onto her feet.

"Hey!" Akko pouts.

Coach Meridies shakes her head with a slight smile. "Go on and stretch for a few minutes. Be careful, we don't want anyone getting seriously hurt." She says dismissing the girls as she extends a hand to help Coach Callistis off the ground.

"And do something about those shoelaces! Tuck them in your shoes." The assistant coach calls out, taking the offered hand and rising to her feet.

"We'll make sure she wears her velcro sneakers when she tries out next year." Sucy says over her shoulder before heading off with Akko and Lotte to stretch with the rest of the team.

"Sucy!" Akko whines.

* * *

 

By the time the girls finish their stretches, the coaches had set up multiple stations around the gym and told them to break into groups of three. The coaches walk around, helping with stance and offering tips as the groups rotate from station to station showcasing their proficiencies.

The first exercise Akko, Lotte, and Sucy are stationed at is a simple toss and catch station. The girls start close, flicking the ball from the wrist then move further away from each other and graduate to underhand tossing.

Akko looks around at the rest of the stations throughout the room. She sees Amanda and two other friends, Constanze and Jasminka, hitting softballs off tees into a net.

"Beautiful pivot, Antonenko. Try not to drag that elbow so much though." Coach Meridies says as Jasminka begins to lower the tee for a helmeted Constanze. "O'Neill, you and I both know that bat is not a light saber, quit goofing around. Look into color guard if you can't help yourself."

Amanda twirls the bat around her hand once more before dinging it against her helmet in a mock salute. "Yes ma'am."

The other stations consist of footwork obstacles, batting sticks, overhand throwing, and several pitching machines with different instructions.

"Akko! Heads up!"

Akko turns to Lotte, quickly raising her glove just in time to catch the ball.

"Sorry! Heh. I'm just checking out the other stations." She explains taking the ball from her glove and tossing it to Sucy.

Sucy hums as she catches the ball and turns to Lotte.

"How fast do you think the machine is over at the bunting station?" Lotte asks readying herself for Sucy's throw.

Akko turns her head looking for said station before noticing the dark-haired girl, Barbara, getting into bunting position across the room. The ball launches from the pitching machine towards the girl backed by a net. She pushes forward just before the ball reaches her bat, knocking the ball to the ground towards her auburn-haired friend feeding the machine. She turns with a satisfied smile and begins collecting the few balls she had missed from the net before handing the bat off to Diana.

The blonde waits until Barbara joins Hannah behind the machine, before getting into position at the plate. From a traditional batting stance Diana quickly slides into a bunt just as the ball shoots from the machine.

_Ting_

The ball deflects off the bat towards the ground with barely a roll. She steps off the plate and nudges the ball out of the way towards her teammates.

When she heads back to the plate she situates herself on the opposite side as though she were batting lefty.

Akko watches closely as Hannah lowers the ball into the mouth of the machine. The ball launches and Diana begins moving off the bag holding the bat out, making one of the most graceful drag bunts Akko had ever seen.

_Ting_

The ball jumps off the bat and rolls down what would be the third base line.

_Woah, she's really good! Akko raises her eyebrows before turning back to Lotte._

"Did you see that?" Akko says excitedly as she holds her glove up to catch Lotte's incoming ball.

"Isn't that the girl you flat-tired before?" the pink haired girl asks with the shadow of a laugh.

"Diana?" Lotte questions as she tries to look around Akko in time to see and hear another perfect bunt from the blonde's bat. "Wow. She never said anything about playing softball in any of our classes."

"How is she that good?!" Akko turns again at the sound of ball meeting aluminum bat only to find herself face to chest with Coach Meridies.

"She probably practices instead of chatting." She says calmly as Akko looks up to meet her eyes. She then turns away from the girls and blows her whistle. "ONE MORE MINUTE! THEN MOVE TO THE NEXT STATION!" She looks back to Akko's group as she continues her way around the room. "Less talking, more tossing."

"Yes Coach." The three say in unison before resuming their game of catch.

 _I bet the machine's not that fast. I can probably do just as good! Especially after how much I've been practicing!_ Akko narrows her eyes in determination as Lotte's next throw meets her glove.

 _Oh_ was Akko mistaken.

If the amount of times she had knocked over the tee-ball stand was any indicator for how ready she would be for the pitching machine, it was pretty clear she was going to have a hard time.

No one could say Akko Kagari wasn't fast, and despite her tendency to lose her attention to even the smallest of distractions, 8 out of 10 times she was there for a catch. Even her throw and aim was skilled; countless days playing catch with her Mom, Dad, and friends from rec teams had most certainly paid off. The only thing she had a very very difficult time with was arguably one of the more important things. Batting.

She knew how to swing the bat. She knew to pivot and to lead with her elbow. She knew where on the bat she wanted the ball to meet and she knew where not to put her fingers during a bunt. She knew all of these things and more, however, the moment she steps into a batter's box or squares up to anything resembling a plate, she loses all sense of what she knows. The pool of anxiety bubbles up into her chest and head, filling her mind with doubts and near impossible expectations effectively psyching herself out.

So there she waits down at the business end of the pitching machine, watching closely as Sucy loads the ball in the machine's nozzle. She gets into position standing low with her bat forward. As the ball shoots towards her, Akko lurches backwards with an "eep!", narrowly avoiding the yellow mass of plastic sailing by her face.

"Don't stand so low." Lotte calls out.

"Your best bet might be to try thinking of using the bat as a shield from the ball." Sucy says as she shakes the now empty ball bag.

Akko groans as she turns to collect the last eight missed pitches from the net behind her.

"If I may make a suggestion?" Coach Callistis chimes in as she walks towards their station from the safe distance she had previously occupied. "First, try not to hover over the base. That is just asking to get hit. Second, try thinking of it more as you trying to catch the ball with the bat. You're reaching the bat to meet it as it comes in. Here I'll show you." She holds out her hand which prompts Akko to surrender her bat. The brunette scurries to the pitching machine dropping armfuls of machine balls into the ball bag before turning to her coach attentively.

"Make sure you give yourself a wide enough stance so you can move without losing your balance. See how far apart my feet are?" The blue haired woman demonstrates to her interested audience. Akko mimics the stance pretending to hold a bat.

"Next, hold the bat like this, making sure to block your fingers from the ball. Then hold it out about here, allowing you to reach just outside the box." She looks up at a waiting Sucy and nods her head. Sucy lowers the ball into the mouth of the machine. As the ball sails towards her, Ursula moves the bat to meet the ball.

"And now, you try to..."

 _Ting!_  The ball rings as it bounces back towards the machine.

"... catch it. See?" Akko looks at her as she tries slowly copying the movements demonstrated.

"Here," she motions the brunette back to the base, returning the bat to her. "Fix your stance, there ya go. Now hold it out like this. Keep it just below eye level. Perfect. Okay, hold on."

Ursula moves a safe distance away from the batter's box and motions to Sucy.

"Ready, set..." Sucy inserts the ball with a thwump.

The ball soars towards her, but she holds her stance watching closely.

_Catch it, catch it._

_Ting!_ The ball sings against aluminum.

I DID IT!

"Oh yeah! I hit it!" The girl cheers, blind to the ball (having just chipped the top of the bat and flying up and out of her view) falling down directly towards bill of her helmet.

_Bang_

"Ah!"

"Careful!" The woman tenses up, until seeing the startled girl begin laughing as she re-adjusts her helmet. "Good start, just keep practicing! But try moving the bat a little higher next time." She smiles as she picks up the ball and tosses it back to the redhead holding out her glove.

"Okay!" Akko beams up at her. "Thank you so much Professor!"

* * *

 

The rest of the tryouts, thankfully, went by without any additional injury. The girls sit on the floor doing their final stretches as Coach Meridies and Callistis stand before them.

"Great job today ladies," Coach Meridies begins, "We were impressed by the skill and potential we saw in you all today. I would like to remind you that tomorrow's tryouts will be taken place outside on the field forty minutes after the end of last period. So be sure to meet here first to help carry gear out."

"Coach Meridies?" a redhead girl named Sarah calls out with a raised hand.

"Yes Bernhardt?"

"When will we hear back on whether we've made the team or not?"

"After tomorrow, Coach Callistis, myself, and Varsity Coach Nelson will take the two days in account and discuss your performances. Expect to see the list posted in the auditorium by Friday. So nobody better think they can slack off tomorrow." She dramatically turns her head looking towards Amanda O'Neill who just as dramatically avoids eye contact while stretching her leg around the back of her head.

"Any other questions?" She asks scanning the room of girls finishing their stretches.

"If you have any personal matter to discuss," Coach Callistis steps forward, "we will be outside the locker room for the next twenty minutes."

"Otherwise," Coach Maridies picks up her sentence, "we will see you ladies tomorrow. Remember to bring your cleats and water."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, thank you for reading! This is my first attempt at a multi-chapter fic based off an idea I had doodled a couple months back. My intent for this story is to be a slow burn, slice of life, coming out, and blossoming romance story. With softball. Obviously.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the story, but most of all, I hope I can make you cringe at the horrible puns I've decided to use as chapter names.


	2. Who's on First

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the second and final day of tryouts and Akko finally gets to see what her competition/teammates can really do. After days of waiting, at last the long-awaited question of who gets cut and who makes the team is answered.

 

"Akko! This is horrible!" Lotte gasps, touching the white line before switching back for her third sprint down the field.

"I know!" Akko puffs. "They weren't joking when they decided to call them suicides!"

"Let's go ladies! Less chatter! Save that breath for breathing!" Coach Meridies, decked in her team windbreaker, calls out as she walks along the line of running girls.

Once the last runner finishes, the coaches give the girls a few minutes to get some water before moving forward. When they are ready, Coach Nelson collects them all on the pitching mound where she and Coach Callistis had been deep in discussion.

"Alright girls." The varsity coach stands with notepad in hand, "All upperclassmen will be coming with me today, we will be starting in the infield. All underclassmen and first timers, you'll be working with Coach Meridies and Coach Callistis starting in the outfield. Be nice, and try not to hurt anybody. Any questions?"

Kicking some dirt, Amanda raises her hand.

"O'Neill, I don't care how well you pitch. Behave."

The orange and pink haired girl lowers her hand with a shrug.

"Alright! Get going!"

The girls break off into their groups. Coaches Meridies and Callistis lead their girls to right field and Nelson has her girls spread across the infield. With a far smaller group than the day before, Coach Meridies has the girls stand in a single file line.

"Alright girls, so we're going to do a little team building ice breaker!" Coach Callistis says with a clap of her hands. "First, say your name. Second, a fun fact about yourself. And third, the position you're hoping to play. Ready?"

Much to her dismay, she is met with blank faces not unlike the ones she sees after assigning a class project . Before things become too awkward, Coach Meridies clears her throat.

"My name is Croix Meridies." She starts, "I have two cats, their names are Roomba and Ramen, and I hope to be the best damn JV coach some of you will ever have."

A few muffled giggles are heard among the lineup. Croix turns to Ursula with a subtle wink to which she returns with a smile and an elbow to the arm.

"Amanda O'Neil." Amanda steps forward. "I once got my friend out of a speeding ticket with a Monopoly 'get out of jail free' card, and my place is on the pitching mound."

"I'm Atsuko Kagari, but everybody calls me Akko! I can fit an entire can of Pringles in my mouth…" The rest of the team (minus Jasminka, who had witnessed the event), as well as both coaches look at her with a mix of concern, confusion, and horror.

"The small can." She clarifies, not making much of a difference.

She clears her throat, "And I want to play shortstop!" She states proudly. She hears giggling from down the line and whips her heard around to see Hannah and Barbara trying to mask their faces.

"I- I'm Lotte Yanson. I have read every book in the Nightfall series twice, and I've only ever played outfield."

"I'm Jasminka Antonenko. I can lift three times my body weight-"

"Wait wha-?!" Akko yelps out.

"It's true." Amanda says matter of factly.

"And I would like to play first base."

"Sucy Manbavaran. I own three nearly extinct species of mushrooms, and I guess outfield is fine."

"A-aright." Croix leans over to Ursula and whispers, "I think we've got a bunch of weirdos-gnnnn!" Her foot is met with the heel of Ursula's cleat.

"Who's next?" Ursula asks sweetly.

Constance silently steps forward.

"This is Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank Albrechtsberger." Amanda speaks up. "She's been working on making a Transformer Robot out of her Mom's minivan." Constanze looks over to her with a raised eyebrow and then slowly nods her head. "And she says she's almost done. So if anybody has any spare nuclear reactor canisters lying around, she's your girl." The short girl grunts with a smile and a thumbs up. "And she's the only catcher that can handle yours truly." Constanze holds her arm out fist bumping Amanda.

"See? Croix quietly says over her shoulder to Ursula, who at this point can't really contest.

"I'm Mary Robinson." A dark haired girl with dark blue eyes steps forward. "I can quote the entirety of the The Godfather, and uh, I'd like to play second or center field."

"I'm Avery Buckland," says a girl with purple hair held back by clips. "I sang the National Anthem on television for a hockey game last year, and I would like to play third."

"I'm Hannah England. I like dancing, and I would also like to play third."

"I am Diana Cavendish. I volunteer as a lifeguard over the summer, and I would like to play shortstop."

Akko whips her head around to look towards the competition.

_Alright, squat girl. Bring it on! It looks like you've got yourself some competition!_

The blonde, feeling eyes boring into her, turns toward the staring brunette and quickly averts her gaze to look towards her friend who had just begun speaking.

"I'm Barbara Parker. I have a cockatoo named Eric Singer, and I would like to play second."

"I'm Sarah Bernhardt. And I have a great fear of spiders. So if you see one, please kill it and don't let me know about it." She says straight faced. "And uh, I'd like to play right field or first."

"I'm Blair Strega," A green eyed girl with blonde pigtails speaks up. "My most prized possession is a signed soccer ball from the goalie of the Blytonbury Titans, and I'd like to play outfield or second.

Croix then looks over to Ursula with a raised brow and gestures her hands towards her.

"O-oh right. Yes." She gathers herself. "I am Ursula Callistis. My second favorite sport is archery, and I will be the JV assistant coach to help in any way I can."

"All right!" Croix claps her hands. "Now that that's over, let's get down to business." Croix says picking up a ball bag. "Let's see how far you girls can throw."

The girls stood lined up against the foul line as they took turns throwing as far as they could towards center field.

"Try not to throw out your arm. This exercise is meant to familiarize yourself with gauging your limits. If you're going to make a long toss, you want to be confident in your ability to get it where you want it."

Amanda steps up to the line first and throws. The ball lands just past the center fielder's position before bouncing and rolling further.

Constanze threw next, followed by Jasminka, the former's ball landing a few feet short of Amanda's and the latter's about twenty feet further.

Akko comes up to the line, pulls her arm back, aims, and releases the throw in a high arc. Her ball lands about a foot further than Amanda's, much to the redhead's disappointment.

Lotte steps up next, her throw coming up a foot or two short of Constanze's.

Sucy makes her way to the line, ball in hand. She rolls it around until she positions her fingers on the laces and then cranks her arm back. When the ball leaves her hand it takes off like a rocket.

"Yay Sucy!" Lotte cries out.

The rest of the girls watch in awe as the ball seemingly climbs higher, never losing altitude.

At last, the ball slows its ascent and drops, hitting the ground with a thud landing far beyond Jasminka's throw.

"WHAT A CANNON!" Croix cheers. "Good arm Manbavaran!" She turns and excitedly whispers to Ursula. "Looks like we have our center fielder!"

With no one ready to step up to the line, the rest of the team continues to stand weak-jawed and in silence. Several moments pass before Akko has the wherewithal to break it.

"Holy FUCK Sucy! What was that?!"

The rest of the team look towards the brunette's outburst with a modicum of shock more than they had previously expressed.

"Kagari! Language!"

The rest of the girls make their throws, averaging around Akko and Amanda's distance. Akko's confidence spiked when Barbara and Hannah's throws fell short of her own, but her competitive fire burned hotter after seeing Diana's throw surpass her by a few feet.

Once everyone has thrown they make their ways to center field to collect their balls and to prepare for their next exercise: fielding.

"Alright, everybody spread out!" Croix calls out as she takes a practice swing with her newly acquired bat. "First pop flies, then grounders, then it's a surprise. Once you catch it, throw it to Coach Callistis." Ursula waves her gloved hand at the girls before lightly tossing a softball to Croix.

"Be sure to call for the ball! I want to be able to hear you guys making it a habit! It's as much you saying that you've got it as it is a warning for others to give you space." Croix tosses the ball up a few times before taking a swing sending it flying into the field.

"I've got it!" Diana calls out, running in to meet the ball. She catches it effortlessly and in a swift movement her right hand takes it from her glove and throws it back to Ursula.

"Good!"

_Ting_

"I've got it!"

_Ting_

"Mine!"

_Ting_

"Back up hoes!"

"Amanda!"

_Ting_

The ball flies high as Akko runs further into the field watching its trajectory over her shoulder.

_Come on... come on._

The ball catches up to her in its fall and Akko lifts her glove.

"Got it!" She screams as she jumps. The ball is snatched from the air, wrapped in the net of the glove as Akko touches back down to the ground. However, upon her landing, the momentum from her run forces her to fight to keep her legs beneath her. Once she regains her balance she runs back to the rest and makes the throw to Ursula.

"Sorry Kagari, that was a bit long. But good job keeping up with it!" Croix calls out before hitting the next ball continuing the exercise.

Aside from the ground ball that went through her legs and the one that hit a bump in the grass and quickly and suddenly redirected itself towards Lotte's face, the rest of the exercise went by without issue.

The rest of the day was spent in the infield practicing tags, tosses, base running speed (Akko's favorite), and basic 'out at first' plays.

The practice ends with a final lap around the field for both upper and underclassmen before rejoining on the pitching mound.

"I am impressed with how hard you ladies worked today." Coach Nelson says with her hands on her hips. "You showed promise and heart, and-" she looks pointedly over at Amanda, "-more than enough backside from inappropriate sliding than any of my past years coaching." A few giggles break out amongst the group as Amanda rolls her eyes, rubbing her slide burned rear. When the giggles subside, Nelson continues.

"Over the next few days, Coach Meridies, Callistis, and I will be discussing our notes, so you should expect to see the team posting in the auditorium on Friday."

"I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week. For those of you who make the list, we will see you for your first real practice on Monday. If you have any questions, we will be in the Coaches Office until 6pm tonight and tomorrow. You are dismissed."

After returning the gear to the equipment closet, the girls head into the locker room to begin changing. Before Diana begins removing her shoes, Coach Meridies calls her out into the hallway.

"Cavendish? A moment?"

The girl in question looks to her friends as they shrug their shoulders before making her way to the door. As she is about to pass the threshold, the brunette with crimson eyes rounds the corner trying to touch her pink haired friend's arm.

"Seriously Sucy, let me feel!"

"No. Stop touching me."

"Come on! How did you throw that?"

"I WILL poison you and I WON'T feel bad about it."

"No fai- oof!" She grunts as her shoulder makes contact with the person coming out of the locker room. She is is knocked off balance before a hand reaches out to help steady her. Akko momentarily looks over to the hand cupping her shoulder and can't help but notice how warm it is. She looks up to its owner and sees familiar blue eyes swimming in concern.

"S-sorry." Akko says more out of habit than anything else.

"It was my mistake. Are you alright?" The blonde asks removing her hand, the warmth disappearing from Akko's shoulder.

_Man, she's super pretty up close. Her eyes are like-SHOOT! She's talking to you. Say something!_

"No, I'm Akko."

_NO!_

"Gah! I mean yes. I'm fine!"

_Keep your cool! She's the competition!_

"Hey! Wait a second!" With a tone of fake haughtiness as she attempts to regain her composure. "Weren't you the one saying that  _I_ needed to be more aware of my surroundings?"

Diana's eyes look over the girl and her friends halted in the doorway. She feels a half smile tug at her lips, her expression changing from concern to one of amusement.

"I believe I did say that." She looks towards the brunette thoughtfully as she resumes her movement towards the hall. "It appears as though we both have room to improve."

Once she rounds the threshold into the hallway and moves out of their sight, Lotte starts giggling.

"What?"

Sucy snorts, covering her grin with a hand. "You dunce."

"Shut up!"

The three make their way to their belongings and begin changing. Akko kicks off her cleats, taking a moment to let her socked feet soak up the coolness of the floor before removing her shorts and replacing them with a pair of skinny jeans.

"Hey Akko," clad in a neon green sports bra and jean shorts stuffed with an ice pack, Amanda bounds over to her, Lotte, and Sucy. "Good job today, I remember you sucking way more in rec league."

"Thanks a bunch Amanda." she says dripping with sarcasm, "Nice slide, by the way. How bad's the ass burn?"

"Hah! See for yourself!" Amanda turns away from her, a mere button away from mooning the brunette.

Will you please grow up O'Neill." Hannah says while tying the belt of her dress around her waist.

"Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough today?" Barbara chimes in, adjusting the sleeves of her blouse.

Amanda shifts her attention to the two and tilts her head. "Embarrassed? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the term. Would you mind explaining it to me? It's obvious you have plenty of experience."

The two girls roll their eyes.

"Whatever, do what you want. Just try not to ruin anyone's reputation but your own." Hannah says as she slides her boots on.

"Stuff it, England. So where'd your smarter, nicer, better at everything third go?"

Perfectly in sync, as if rehearsed, Hannah and Barbara flip her the bird. "The coaches asked to talk with her. We don't know why."

"Oooh, is Cavvy in trouble? Didn't see that coming! What'll you do if your master's not here to tell you what to do?"

"We are more than capable of independence, you-"

Akko waves her arms around and steps between the three. "Okay! Okay guys! That's good. Enough. Please!"

The crowd of girls that had been watching the exchange quickly turn away and try to busy themselves.

"Tch!" Hannah and Barbara turn away from the redhead.

"Hey it was this bi- _mph!_ " From behind her, Jasminka shoves a fist full of sunflower seeds into her mouth and then proceeds to carry her back to her locker on the other side of the room.

Akko turns to continue listening to Lotte gush about the chapter in Nightfall where Edgar and his family play a baseball game with Belle for the first time. It had been a major factor convincing her to try out with Akko. At the end of their conversation Akko and Lotte notice Hannah and Barbara standing close by.

"You know Akko, you were better than we expected." Barbara says to her.

Akko turns her head and looks at them confusedly, "Um, thanks? I guess."

"You might actually be able to play, you know… off the bench." Hannah responds.

"You know, you're pretty bad at giving compliments." Sucy says from behind Lotte.

"Anyway," Barbara says, "you might actually stand a chance if Diana gets put onto varsity."

"What makes you so sure she's gonna make it to varsity and not me!?" Akko says defiantly.

A mass snort is heard throughout the locker room, but when Akko looks around everyone is frozen facing their lockers.

"Gnnn…." She pouts.

"Anyway. See ya later." The two girls head over to the other side of the locker room to meet up with Avery and Mary.

"I don't get why they're such jerks." Akko mumbles to Lotte. Akko wasn't new to the concept of bullies; from a young age she had tendencies to act and learn a little differently than a lot of the other kids. But now that she is starting her sophomore year of high school in a new school district, she expected a little bit for being the new student, but didn't think it would persist so far into the year. Hannah and Barbara had actually gotten better since the beginning of the year, but it is still a mystery to Akko as to why they choose to put so much energy into being mean to her.

_Diana seems nice though. Maybe a little snooty. But not like, mean, I don't think. Man! Why can't my rival be mean?! If she was mean it would make me even more driven to beat her!_

Just then, the subject of Akko's contemplation appears in the locker room doorway.

"It is your decision Diana." Croix says to her.

"I understand, I will think on it. Thank you." The blonde responds before making her way to her belongings to resume changing.

Hannah and Barbara appear back at her side from across the room as she removes her t-shirt and replaces it with a button up.

"What was that about, Diana?" Barbara asks her.

"It's nothing. The coaches just wanted to ask me about a personal matter." she responds, fastening the final button at her chest before slipping her skirt over her shorts and grabbing her bag. "Are you two ready?"

Hannah and Barbara nod before falling in step with Diana towards the hallway.

"Hey!" Akko calls out through the nozzle of her water bottle. Their heads turn, confusion etched on their faces.

"Yes?" Diana asks.

Akko takes a moment to swallow her water before putting her bottle down. "Good luck you guys."

Diana looks at her for a moment.

"Though I don't believe luck is of any use at this point… the sentiment is appreciated." She pauses. "But I wish the same to you." With that, she turns away and takes another step towards the door.

"One more thing," she says as she turns her head, "impressive throw Miss Manbavaran."

* * *

The next few days were, Akko feels, the longest she had ever endured. It was finally Friday and the suspense of seeing the team roster posting was killing her.

Akko clicks her pen at each passing second as she watches the clock drag towards the end of the period.

_One class and fifteen minutes left ._

"MISS KAGARI"

She jumps to attention, eyes shooting towards her teacher as the rest of the biology class turn to look at her.

"S-sorry?"

Professor Finnelan looks at her and sighs, exhausted. "I'm going to send you to the principal's office if you don't stop clicking your pen, Miss Kagari. You are distracting the rest of the class and testing my very last nerve."

"W-won't happen again, Professor!" Akko drops her pen on her desk and covers it with her notebook.

The rest of the class rights their attention back to the front of the room as their professor turns to the blackboard to continue her lecture on cell structure. "For some reason I doubt that." The older woman says under her breath.

To her surprise, not a single pen click was heard for the rest of the period, although, she didn't hear the girl taking notes either. Once the bell rang, Akko leaps from her seat and runs to her next period English class with Professor Callistis.

A brunette blur shoots through the classroom towards the front of the room. She unintentionally slams her hands on Ursula's desk, startling her into breaking her chalk against the blackboard.

"Professor! I can't wait any longer! Can I please skip class today and go to the auditorium?" Akko pouts to the panic recovering woman.

"Akko, I know it's hard, but you have to be patient. It'll be there at the end of class." Ursula takes a moment to think, "I actually don't know if Nelson's posted it yet."

Akko groans and slumps away from the desk.

"Try not to worry so much…" Ursula says it calmly, but Akko turns to face her with breakneck speed. "I-uh, think we're going to have a good team this year."

Akko's eyes light up with a renewed energy. "Do you mean…?"

"I don't know!" Ursula raises her hands. "Though I do know the bell is about to ring and that you should get to your seat."

Akko looks at her, still a little frazzled by what she thinks that information could mean, before spinning around and excitedly moving to her desk.

"Okay Professor!"

One agonizingly long period of analyzing  _The Odyssey_  later, the bell finally rings. Akko races through the halls, weaving through the mass of students leaving at the end of the day.

"Miss Kagari! No running in the-" Finnelan attempts as said girl shoots past her and rounds the corner. "Oh, forget it." She turns to go back into her classroom.

Akko finally reaches the doors of the auditorium and allows herself a breath.

_This is i~t!_

She opens the doors and makes her way to the rest of the group huddled around the bulletin board. After finding purchase on her tiptoes looking over Mary's shoulder, at last her eyes find the list for the softball team.

"YES!" Akko erupts, startling a few girls.

Lotte and Sucy make their way over to the group and stand next to the bouncing brunette.

"We made it!" Akko says pulling the both of them into a group hug.

"It's only JV, relax." Sucy grunts through the unexpected force of the hug.

A few moments later, Hannah, Barbara, and Diana arrive in the auditorium. As they make their way down to the bulletin board, the three notice Sucy pushing herself away from Akko, who still has a firm hold on a gasping Lotte.

Barbara nudged Hannah, gesturing over to the other three girls.

"You know what that means..."

"At least the losses will be entertaining." The other girl responds.

Diana walks up to the board and looks down the list finding her name.

_This is the right decision._

 

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last names for Avery, Mary, and Blair are not random! Avery's last name is based from her voice actress (Kira Buckland), Mary's is based off her (half) namesake, Mary Blair's maiden name (Robinson), and Blair's is literally 'witch' in Italian (Strega)... get it... Blair Witch? heh heh
> 
> Also, Barbara's pet cockatoo's name (Eric Singer) is the name of the member of the band KISS whose face makeup was used on Barbara in episode 12.


	3. Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Batter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that tryouts are over, the girls start off strong with their very first practice as a team. Akko aims for shortstop but comes to realize that even though they are part of the same team, competition runs closely.

 

Akko ran home Friday bursting at the seams from excitement. The moment she ran through the doors of her house she jumped face first onto the couch and squealed in delight.

That weekend went by in an instant. Once Akko forced herself to stop watching and rewatching recordings of Chariot's highlight plays and to sit down and start her homework assignments, it was already halfway through Sunday.

' _Geez Akko. I didn't think you could get even more annoying about Chariot.'_ Sucy sends into the group chat after receiving the sixth video link to a highlight reel starring the redhead .

' _I just think that after seeing you throw you could totally make that play.'_ Akko responds.

' _Did you guys need help with your english assignment? My dad is telling me to go to sleep.'_ Lotte texts.

Akko looks at the time at the top of her phone screen.

_11:42. Crap._

She then turns her attention to the span of textbooks around her. Most of it was done, but this one last English assignment asking her to analyze the perspective of fairy tales or Greek origin had her stumped.

She chose the story behind the constellation of the Little Dipper, which is pretty much the story of a boy named Arcas killing a bear that wasn't actually a bear. It was actually his mother who was turned into a bear by Zeus because he was cheating on Hera with her and Hera almost found out. So, when Arcas killed his bear mother, he started yelling out of anger and sadness, making Zeus nervous because he didn't want Hera to hear so he turned HIM into a bear too. And then he made them into constellations making Arcas look over his dead mother forever.

So screw Zeus. But don't actually because he'll turn you and your kid into a bear.

But that's beside the point, Akko's current dilemma was writing another two pages about what else the storyteller was trying to convey, other than what a douche Zeus could be.

' _It's ok Lotte, i'm onto something. Thx tho!'_ She lies.

' _Same.'_ Sucy responds.

The three say their goodnights. Akko, lacking the tempting distraction of texting more videos to her friends, manages to three-quarter ass her way through the essay before 2am. She reasons that she might be a little tired during her first period, but she usually falls asleep in Badcock's math class anyway.

* * *

Much to her surprise, when her alarm clock blared Freddy Mercury singing ' _The Show Must Go On',_ she was wide awake and thrumming with excitement. She woke up ready to smell the field and as much as she liked it, she wished her feet hadn't itched to be in her cleats from the moment she slipped into her red converse sneakers. She grabbed some workout clothes and threw them into her bat bag before heading to what she was sure would be a very long day.

By the time lunch period came around, it was evident that she was not the only one impatient for the end of the school day.

"I just want to throw something!" Amanda groans with half a french fry dangling from her mouth.

"Me too…" Akko whines.

"Seriously you guys… what's wrong with you." Sucy looks over to them while sucking on a juice box.

"We want to play!" They shout in unison.

"No, yeah. We got that. But you're being a little... extra about it." Lotte says trying not to discourage her friend.

"I'm just super excited to start my athletic career!" The brunette says, her eyes shining. "It's been my dream to play on a college team and playing on a high school team is pretty much the first step!"

"Eh, I just want to see how many people I can scare with a curveball." Amanda says pushing another fry into her mouth.

The group let out a resounding sigh.

Akko sits back down and takes an enthusiastic bite from her burger. "Why aren't you guys all excited?"

"I'm kinda nervous, actually." Lotte confesses. "I'm excited to be a part of it, but after seeing everybody at tryouts, I guess I'm scared I won't be very good."

"Lotte!" Akko jumps suddenly, startling the redhead. "You are going to do great! And you know what? The more you do it, the better you're gonna get! You just have to believe in yourself!"

Lotte leans back in her seat trying to move away from the sudden volume and very close proximity of her friend. "O-oka-"

"Easy there life coach, people are staring." Sucy says.

Akko looks up to notice that indeed, a majority of the cafeteria had directed their attention to their table. She lowers herself and sits down sheepishly. "I just know that no matter what, you'll get better as long as you try to. Maybe you need a rival to push you! My rivalry with Diana-"

"WAIT! You think you have a rivalry with DIANA? Akko, c'mon!" Amanda starts laughing out loud, regaining the attention of a few of the neighboring tables.

"What?!"

"If she sees you as a threat she really has gone soft."

"Hey!" Akko growls.

"Dude, no, I was on her traveling team last year." Amanda leans in close whispering. "Yeah, she's a grade-A TOTAL frikkin dweebo nerd, but man, she is SCARY with a bat." Constanze and Jasminka nod their heads solemnly. "Hell, I don't think I've even seen her flub a throw."

"Tch!" Akko folds her arms over her chest. "Well, no matter how good she may be, I'm not gonna let her take shortstop without a fight."

"Thats gonna be one sad looking fight, sorry Akko..." she thinks for a moment, "But hey, you might be in luck. She's probably good enough to get put on varsity. Still, then it's everybody else you have to worry about." Amanda teases.

Akko grumbles angrily before narrowing her eyes, a sly grin spreading across her face. "But you're still on JV huh? Are you saying Diana's better than you?"

"Absolutely not!" Amanda raises her voice, the french fry in her mouth falling to the table. She freezes and brings herself back down to the table as she looks around at the curious eyes, yet again, honed I'm on their group of friends. She lowers her voice with a cough. "The only reason me, Conz, and Jas are here is because Nelson's already got Molly, Elsa, and Amelia in our positions. Besides, without us JV wouldn't stand a chance."

"And you drive Coach Nelson crazy." Jasminka says before shoving another handful of chips into her mouth.

"Yeah, that's true. She'd probably kill me."

From there the conversation strayed to anecdotes of Amanda's greatest pranks on professors. One particular story involving Finnelan and two gallons of chocolate pudding was by far the group's favorite. Amanda claims she is the cause of at least eighty-percent of the biology teachers gray hairs. It's is truly a wonder how Amanda hasn't been kicked out of the school yet.

Eventually the bell rings, ending the lunch period and sending the group of girls their separate ways.

Akko walks to her biology class as slowly as possible. The less time she had to spend with Finnelan the better, especially now that the image of her covered in pudding refused to leave her mind.

She walks into the classroom, making her way to her seat near the back of the room and immediately lays her chin on the desktop.

_Two more classes. Hm?_

She lifts her head to see a familiar blonde walk into the room. She takes a seat near the front of the room and begins digging through her bag before placing her notebook and textbook on the desk in front of her. From the corner of her eye, Akko watches her as discreetly as possible.

_She really doesn't look like she's the sporty type at all…_

However, while the blonde under observation is wearing a long cardigan and tank top over skinny jeans, Akko remembers quite well how toned the girl is under all the fabric. She feels a slight heat come over her face.

_I seriously have to start working on those squats… Man, it's kinda warm in here. I hope they put the air conditioning on._

Finnelan walks in as the bell rings to start the class period.

"Alright class. Before we begin with today's lecture on animal cell anatomy I am going to have you answer a few questions from your readings over the weekend. Turn to the end of chapter 8 and complete questions 1 through 4."

Akko digs her textbook out of her backpack and begins flipping through the pages. Before starting the exercise she looks back up towards her rival at the front of the room. The blonde stares pensively at the notebook paper in front of her as she writes quickly and surely.

_I'll show Amanda and the others… I don't care how smart or pretty or good at softball you are squat girl, Atsuko Kagari is a force to be reckoned with! Man, I wonder how she makes her hair do that..._

She's unsure of how long she's been watching the unaware blonde for, but the sound of Professor Finnelan's voice behind her snaps her back into reality with a start.

"Miss Kagari. Do you have a question about the assignment or are you just going to continue slacking off in my class?"

"N-nope! I totally have this!" She jumps trying to cover the evidence of her not started assignment with flailing arms.

* * *

The remainder of her classes, surprisingly, went much faster than she thought they would. Despite the slight distraction of her rival in Biology and the temptation of talking softball with Professor-erm… Coach Callistis in English, before she knew it the bell had rung and she was on her way to the locker room, bat bag slung over her shoulder.

Once she arrived the locker room she notices a lot less people have occupied lockers than had during tryouts. She begins changing as more girls filter into the small room and begin doing the same. Sucy and Lotte walk in together and put their things into the lockers next to Akko's.

"Are you ready, Akko?" The redhead asks removing her glasses.

"Are you kidding? I can't wait to get out there!" She says ripping her shirt over her head.

"Five bucks Akko ends up on her face at some point today." Sucy whispers leaning over to a half pantless Amanda.

"Oh hell yeah, ten bucks it's in the first half hour." She says shaking Sucy's hand, shorts nowhere near her waist. Their bet is interrupted by Mary and Sarah coming up to their half dressed huddle.

"We want in." The two say simply.

Akko double knots the laces of her cleats before taking a deep breath and a quick swig of water. She looks around the locker room noting a distinct lack of her blonde and tea green haired rival despite her two sidekicks changing in the corner. "Hey, where's Diana?" Akko leans over to Lotte asking quietly. "I saw her in class earlier."

"I don't know." She looks around focusing on Hannah and Barbara. "Well, this  _is_ JV's time to use the field. Maybe Amanda was right that she got put onto varsity and will be practicing with them later." Lotte offers to her friend who seems a little disappointed by the revelation.

_Seriously? She really wasn't that good, was she!?_

"Hey wait a second," Akko counts everybody as she looks around the locker room once again. "Did they even cut anybody from the underclassmen? It kinda looks like everyone from tryouts is here…"

"Akko. You do realize not that many people came to try out right? If they were actually cutting people you probably wouldn't be here." Sucy says as she pulls her t-shirt down.

"What do you mean?! I did just fine!"

"Hello ladies! Please take a seat." Croix and Ursula exit the doorway from the coach's office halting all conversation in the room. "Welcome and congratulations on making the Luna Nova JV softball team this year!" Croix claps her hands. "We took everyone's performance into consideration and we believe that you girls will make up a great team. We expect you to work hard and do your best not just for your team, but for your future self."

Ursula steps forward smiling. "What you will learn here, the discipline, the experience working as a part of a team, and hopefully familiarizing yourself with the drive to push yourself to higher expectations, among many others, may benefit and stick with you for the rest of your life. The memories I have from my time as a Luna Nova Witch were not necessarily all good ones, but I learned so much about myself in this locker room and on that field, it became my second home for four years."

Amanda nudges Akko with her elbow. "That means Coach C lost her V card in this very room."

"Shut up Amanda!" Akko, emotionally invested in Ursula's speech, whispers as she silences her friend's chuckling by nearly shoving her off the bench.

"As coaches, we OBVIOUSLY want you to play well to improve your skill and experience winning, but as your teachers, our goal is to help you learn and to help you grow into the kind of people you want to be. So if you have any problems or questions, we want to let you know that you can talk to us."

Akko smiles as she clasps her hands in excitement.

"I don't have anything more to add. Croix?"

"Nope, that about wraps the mushy stuff. Now..." her tone turns serious. "ladies, are we ready to head out to the field? Line up outside the locker room and grab some gear to bring out."

The girls chat as they make their way to the field. Akko smacks Amanda with a ball bag after yet another inappropriate joke about her favorite professor. She then quickens her pace making her way towards the coaches.

"Professor Ursula!- I mean... Coach!" She calls slowing to a walk at her side.

"Yes Akko? And you can call me whichever you like."

"O-ok. Um. I was just wondering… what positions did you and Coach Meridies play when you were students?" She looks up at them with shining eyes.

"Uh, well… I guess I started in left field but eventually I got moved up into the infield a little bit of everywhere. And Croix…was a few years ahead of me." She looks toward the other woman.

"I was pitcher," she says proudly, "and then third when Ms. McIntyre's relative started pitching. Let me tell you kid, they have a family secret knuckle-ball, avoid it at all costs."

"O-alright." The brunette makes a mental note to do just that.

"Don't worry too much about placement, we're going to work on some fundamentals today and you're all going to get the chance to taste each position. I know most of you have played before, but we want to give you the chance to try something new before we make any decisions."

"Yes Coach Meridies. I-" In that moment Akko heard footsteps approaching fast. Instantly she braced herself, too many times had Amanda surprise tackled her. NOT. TODAY.

However, where Akko was expecting to see Amanda ram into her vision, she was surprised to see Diana slow to a matching pace on the other side of the coaches.

"Coach, I'm very sorry for my tardiness. I was asked to help Professor Finnelan set up labs but I didn't realize it would take as long as it did." The blonde girl breathily explains to the two coaches.

_HA! She IS on JV! Take that Amanda! Now we'll see who'll get shortstop fair and square!_

"Don't worry Cavendish, your friends let us know what was going on." Croix turns to her. "The happier Finnelan is, the better it is for everyone."

Diana allows a small smile to cross her lips before looking over to Ursula and Akko. "Well, thank you Coach Meridies, Coach Callistis, I'll try not to let it happen again."

And with that, Diana turns around and makes her way to Hannah and Barbara's group. Akko watches her go, a wave of relief washes over her thoughts as a competitive fire rekindles in her chest.

Practice had started out fine. Once they arrived at the field, the coaches had the girls start out with stretches, push ups, curl ups, mountain climbers, and jumping jacks before taking a few laps around the field.

Despite being exhausted at its finish, Lotte was satisfied that her new prescription goggles were working beautifully. Sucy even managed to break a light sweat.

Akko, however, grumbled at the runs completion. Since the first corner, Akko had been discreetly staying neck and neck with Diana, that is, until her distraction from a protruding grass lump caused her to plummet to the ground. She caught herself before hitting the dirt, steadied herself and brought herself back to a run, much to the disappointment of the now 20 dollars poorer Amanda and Sucy. However, the stumble caused her to lose enough speed just before the exercise's end that Diana, Barbara, Hannah and a few others were able to pass the finish before her.

Next, the girls rotated around the field doing various plays in various positions. True to her word, Coach Meridies had everyone at every position for a play or two in order to allow them to get an idea of the perspective from any player on the field.

Akko enjoyed this exercise, but was getting impatient to get to shortstop. She liked playing the outfield, and she showed she was familiar enough playing it from that portion of the exercise, but now that she was in the infield, she took on a new level of seriousness.

From her position at second, she scoops up the ground ball hit towards her and tosses it underhand to Avery standing on first. It gets to the base a little low, but Avery manages to catch it. From there, Akko takes Avery's position at first and watches as Barbara steps between her and second base.

_Okay, that went well enough._

_Ting_

The ball rockets closer to second base and Barbara takes off to meet it. She slides to a stop in an orange cloud of dirt, fluidly picking up the ball, tapping second, and proceeds to shoot the ball to Akko on first. Akko squeaked as she catches the ball with a loud clap. After tossing the ball back to Croix and heading back into line, she shakes her hand from the sting of the ball.

"Nice double play Parker." Croix calls out before tossing the ball to Ursula, "Try not to kill your first baseman though."

"Yes Coach" she says as she readies herself on first.

Once the girls have their second attempt at second, they moved to shortstop.

"Okay ladies, for here were going to start off with tagging out at second and then the second time around you'll be getting the out on third. Uh, Amelie von Br- Constanze you're up."

_It's time. Alright Akko you've got this. You've seen this play done a thousand times, it's totally easy. Just think of that play that Chariot did in that game against the Minotaurs. You can totally do that. But… what if I mess it up? If I don't do this right Diana's gonna beat me. I mean, maybe she could decide that she wants to play second instead of shortstop? I mean, her play there was kinda perfect so she could totally do it and that way-_

_Ting_

"You alright Akko?" Lotte asks from beside her. "You're kinda staring off."

"Hm?" The brunette looks at her as though she had just come out of a trance. "Oh, sorry. Yeah, I was just thinking."

"Oh no." Sucy says fixing her hair bun from her other side, instigating a glare from her friend.

"I'm sure you're gonna do great Akko, try not to get all up in your head about it!" Lotte nudged her with her glove. "Just have fun, right?"

"Yeah. I know." She smiles broadly. "I just want to play like Chariot. And if I can play her position, I'm just one step closer you know?"

"Hey, your rival's up." Sucy taps the brunette's shoulder, her head snapping to attention.

Diana steps forward and bends into stance, eyes forward and glove down. She bounces lightly on her toes as Ursula throws the ball up and hits it towards her. Diana pushes off her right leg and takes off towards second. Mid stride, she touches her glove to the ground and picks up the ball. She rounds second, swiping the bag before halting herself in position to throw to first.

"Very good Cavendish! Perfect tag." Croix calls out before raising her glove to catch the incoming ball. A smile ghosts over Diana's face before snapping back to a neutral expression as she heads to the back of the line.

Akko stares at her until the blonde makes her way to the back and resumes her conversation with Sarah about… factorials? Akko releases the breath she didn't realize she had been holding

_Geez, she is a nerd. But gnn! That play was perfect. Stop it Akko, stop. You can do what she did, no problem. It's just move, get the ball, move, tag, throw. Move, get the ball, move, tag, throw. Move, get the-_

"Next up! Come on Kagari!"

In her inner peptalk, Akko hadn't realized the two girls who had been in front of her were now at the back of the line.

"Go on Akko!" Lotte whispered. "You've got this!"

"Show em." Sucy half smiles and gives her a thumbs up.

Akko takes in a deep breath and smiles at her friends before moving forward confidently onto the dirt.

_You've got this Akko. Just like Chariot. Just like Diana._

She stands herself between second and third and bends into position swaying on the balls of her feet. She looks up towards Ursula preparing to throw the ball upwards.

_Move, ball, move, tag, throw._

_Ting_

Akko watches as the ball skips across the ground before getting towards second lowering her glove and replaying Diana's play in her head. However, at the moment the ball met Akko's path she found that she had overrun the trajectory. She stopped herself in a cloud of dust and managed to bend back to get the ball before it passed her back foot.

_Okay. Move. Ball. Move. MOVE._

She untwisted herself and pushed towards second base, ball safely in glove. In her haste however, she found she was leading with her head, her legs merely attempting to keep up with the gravity affecting the front of her body. By the time she reached the base, her swipe at the bag turned into a bounce to help push her upright before fixing her position for a throw. Though ultimately successful, the process was clumsy and cost more time than ideal.

"Alright Kagari. Good. Next time, try to keep the ball in front of you and be a little more sure of your steps. If someone was sliding into second they would have knocked you right over." Croix yells to her as she holds up her glove.

Akko nods to her blowing out a piece of hair as she throws the ball back.

Lotte and Sucy give her a high five as she passes them to get to the back of the line.

_Okay, a little less than perfect. But I made the play! Just gotta remember what Coach Meridies said and learn from it!_

She watches Lotte and Sucy make their plays before they head to the back with Akko.

"You did great Lotte!" Akko shakes her friend's shoulder when she reaches her.

"You think so? I think I prefer the outfield, but this is still fun."

"I agree." Sucy says stretching her back eliciting a few cracks.

The next set of exercises begin and Akko watches her teammates intensely.

"Remember, for this one, the idea is speed. You want to get the out at third so that your third baseman has the chance to get a second out elsewhere. Try to keep the ball low." Ursula calls out before hitting the ball into the field.

Akko watches, determining how she wants to make her pass.

_I could just toss it to the side, or I could flip it with the glove like Chariot did in that game against the Serpents. That was so cool!_

Before she knows it, she's next up again. Diana had just thrown it to third underhand, nothing super special in Akko's opinion, so she decided to try to make this her moment.

_I'm gonna throw with the glove, so I just gotta make sure my right leg is out of the way-_

_Ting_

Akko makes a lunge to the side before realizing the ball was heading to where she was originally standing. She quickly shuffles back and grabs the ball in her glove. She flicks her glove towards third base releasing the ball. Unfortunately, the distance was a little underestimated on Akko's part and the ball falls short of the bag and rolls the rest of the way to the third baseman.

_Damnit!_

"Good try Akko! But keep in mind, function over flair. You can practice doing unique throws, but when it counts you want to be sure you're going to make the play." Ursula calls out from the batter's box. "In game, it's only cool if it works!"

"Ursula has tons of experience of it being 'not cool'." Croix says hushed to the brunette as she arrives at third base.

Akko feels her cheeks burn from embarrassment and feels her heart sink.

_Oh man! How could I mess that up! Professor Ursula is right… but damnit._

She lifts her glove in time to catch Lotte's toss.

_I can't believe I did that. It's not too late though right? I can still make get it, I won't make that mistake again. Man, but Diana and everybody saw that…_

She makes her way to the back of the line and waits for her friends.

"Nice throw Akko, you almost made it." Barbara teases as she passes.

"Though I doubt you'll have to improve on it in whatever position you get put in." Hannah adds with a snicker.

"Girls, that not a very becoming way to treat your teammate." Diana says halting their ridicule and keeping Akko's tightening fists at bay. "We all make mistakes and it is an opportunity to learn from them. Though I do think it is a little irresponsible to be attempting plays for show where you are actively trying to get a position."

_Who does she think she is?!_

"I'm sorry, I was just having some fun." The brunette snaps back bitterly.

"And that is, of course, fine and well in your right." The blonde responds without batting an eye. "But if you are wishing to make a position, you must showcase your capabilities opposed to possibilities."

Akko huffs, though she is aware that what her rival says may be right, she is not so fond of being told in such a belittling manner.

"Hey Akko, come here!" Sucy yells from the back of the line with Lotte.

When she turns back to the blonde she sees her facing the front of the line passively while Hannah and Barbara wave condescendingly.

"What was that?" Sucy asks as Akko falls back in line behind them.

"Are you okay, Akko?" Lotte whispers.

"It's fine, they were just being jerks." Akko rolls her eyes. "I'll show them."

_I'll show her._

"That was a pretty crappy throw…"

"Sucy! I know!" The brunette whines, hanging her head. "That was so embarrassing!"

"Yeah."

"It's okay Akko, don't let it get to you." Lotte says laying a hand on her shoulder. "There's always the next throw right?"

Akko looks up to her redheaded friend. "Right." she smiles. After all, this is her time to learn, she is only going to get better from this point forward, as long as she works hard and believes in herself...she will be a great player just like Chariot.

* * *

The remainder of the practice, as well as the few days of practice following, Akko noticed her own improvement, learning from each of her mistakes she made in turn. However, despite her improvements, she had noticed a trend on where she was practicing more often.

"Antonenko, uh, Constanze, Cavendish, England, O'Neill, Parker, and Strega! All of you in the infield with me. Bernhardt, Buckland, Kagari, Manbavaran, Robinson, and Yanson! You will all be with Callistis in the outfield."

She wasn't going to lie, she was upset she wasn't chosen for shortstop over Diana.

_Yeah, she's good. But where does she get off acting like everyone's naggy mom?_

She longingly watched the infield run plays as she and the rest of the outfield recruits did their own. She kept telling herself that there's still time to get the chance to play short if she works hard. The reason it is her dream to play shortstop is because she wants to inspire others to work to become better just like Chariot did for her, after all. So although she has a bubbling envy prickling at her skin whenever she sees Diana stand between second and third, she isn't planning on squandering her time in the outfield.

_I will work hard, and I will get better. And one day, I will be as great of a player as Chariot is!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! As I had mentioned in the notes of the first chapter this is a completed story that I am transferring over to AO3. So my plan is to upload 3 chapters or so maybe twice a week. So... if you want to continue reading this, you can find the finished product (minus artwork) on FFN, but if you are okay waiting, I will be updating regularly. Thank you again for reading!


	4. Baddest Pitch Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko works on juggling class and sport. Despite her tireless practicing, Akko seeks a little extra help in an attempt to improve her batting average. Fortunately, she knows just the pitcher to ask.

 

"Please Amanda! Please please please please pleeeeeaaaaaaase!"

"Alright, enough. You're giving me a headache. I'll help you after practice, happy?"

"Yay!" Akko cheers. After listening to her friend's begging for the last fifteen minutes of their lunch period, Amanda finally gives in to her request of additional practice batting against a pitcher.

"I will pay you in food and… whatever you want next time we hang out! Okay?"

"Whatever, just don't make this a regular thing. I have shit to do outside of this school." Amanda replies. She doesn't actually mind, in fact, she is more than happy to chuck balls at one of her closest friends (though her reputation would keep her from ever admitting it). Despite her being a little irritating at times, Akko is a genuine sweetheart and quality entertainment. Besides, she doesn't have anything better to do.

"I just need to get a little bit better. And the more I practice the less psyched out I'm gonna get when it's a real game!"

"Just a little bit, huh?" Amanda says with a raised eyebrow.

"It'll be fun! Thank you Amanda!" The excited brunette ignores the jab and pulls the redhead into a quick, one sided hug before running off to Finnelan's bio class.

After the last few practices, Akko had become hyper self-conscious about her batting average. It's pretty not good... and if Akko wanted to play, she was going to have to learn how to bat. Her favorite activity of running bases becomes far more attainable if she can get herself onto a base in the first place.

Or she can just hope that Coach Meridies would let her be Amanda's pinch runner… She didn't want to think about that. Though going from the bottom to the top is quite the inspiring story, she wants to play, so she needs to get better at batting. She just has to.

She knows it is an area she has always struggled with, and after all the time it has proven to be her weakest skill, she'd be lying if she said she hadn't gotten accustomed to the tradition of stepping into the batter's box and walking right back out into the dugout.

But that is going to change! After all, it is time for her to challenge her limits! And after seeing how well everyone else does up at bat, she feels like the odd woman out.

It also doesn't help that ever since it became obvious that Diana had been selected as shortstop and Akko sentenced to outfield, she has felt dangerously close to having an assigned seat on the bench. Though there would be rotation to be sure everyone gets the chance to play, Akko knows that if she is a good hitter, she would be put on the lineup more often, and if she is on the lineup, she would be in the field.

She has been improving under Professor Ursula's coaching, but that practice had all been on tees and machines and with the first game less than a week away, she needs to practice against the unpredictability of a live pitcher. Fortunately enough, she just so happens to be darn good friends with one.

Akko makes her way to Finnelan's classroom. However, the moment she steps through the threshold of the door and sees students with poster boards flipping through flashcards her stomach plummets.

_No._

"Ehem. Excuse me Miss. Kagari. Please make your way to your seat." The irritated biology teacher says from behind her. Akko jumps at the sound of her voice before scurrying to her desk on the other side of the room.

"Good afternoon. We're just going to jump right into your presentations. I want you all to go today since we need to catch up with the curriculum. Who would like to go first?"

_Ffffffffff-_

Akko watches her classmates presentations barely hearing them over her racing heart beat.

_I can't believe I forgot it was today. I can't. Shit. Shit shit._

It's not like Akko was completely in the dark about this presentation. Each student had been assigned a part of the cell to talk about, Akko had gotten the mitochondria. She knew it was the powerhouse of the cell. And that it looks like a squiggly bean.

That should be good right?

_Oh man. I'm screwed._

The class claps as Verde finishes her presentation, pulling Akko out of her thoughts about somehow  _'accidentally'_  falling out of the window to avoid making a fool of herself.

After Verde gathers her poster board and brings it back to her seat, at the front of the room Diana rises from her desk and makes her way to the blackboard.

Over the last few weeks Akko's attitude towards Diana has taken a number of names. First it was indifferent, then competitive, jealous, and resentful, and is now hovering between envious, frustrated, and if she's not going to lie, curious. She's a little uncomfortable with the amount of feelings swirling around inside of her when the blonde's around. On one end she wants to be better at academics and softball and claim the position of shortstop from her, showing Diana and her friends that Akko Kagari will not stand down. She is her rival and even though she may have bested her for the current moment, Akko was ever ready to turn the tables.

But on the other end, she kinda wants to be her friend. She can't really explain why. Yeah she's good at softball and she's pretty nice and smells like lavender when she sweats, but she's also the girl who reminds the teacher to collect the homework. Nobody's perfect.

"For my project I will be discussing the rough endoplasmic reticulum."

Diana stands at the head of the classroom commanding attention with her presentation. Akko watches her with interest despite zoning out the moment she says something about ribosomes.

_How does she remember all of that? She's not even looking at notecards. How can someone be so good at everything?_

Diana glances through the class in front of her as she speaks. For a moment her eyes meet burgundy.

_Her perfect blue eyes, and her perfect hair, and her perfect deltoids. Man! I throw just as much as her, how does she look like THAT? Wait, she's still looking at me. Oh god is there food on my face?!_

Akko's eyes open wide as she makes a quick movement to wipe her mouth.

Diana falters for a moment, barely noticeable by the rest of the class. Lighting quick she blinks and throws her eyes towards the other side of the room continuing her presentation without skipping a beat.

When Akko has sufficiently wiped her face, drawing the attention of a few neighboring desks, she looks back to the blonde who was now exclusively focusing on the opposite side of the room.

_Oh come on! Her jaw line's perfect too!_

Eventually, much to her disappointment, there was only one student left to present. She was so close to the bell. So close. Diana taking a few extra minutes should have been enough to save her, but Bice's presentation of a plant cell wall was lacking.

Akko ends up drawing a picture of her cell organ on the blackboard (which takes up a minute or two) and then recites as much as she can remember from her lectures. She manages to remember something about respiration or energy production, to which she realizes THAT is why it is known as the powerhouse of the cell. With her new found confidence from her revelation, she bullshits her way through the rest of her presentation.

Finnelan looks less than impressed as an awkward round of applause gives Akko the leave to return to her seat. Once the brunette returns to her desk with a sigh of relief, the disappointed professor begins to erase the poorly drawn image on the chalkboard. Seemingly on cue as Finnelan opens her mouth, the bell rings.

"Alright class, tomorrow we will begin lecture on cell division. Make sure to come to class prepared-" she shoots a glance towards a distracted Akko "-with tonight's readings. You are dismissed."

The class (minus a chalky handed Akko) gathers their poster boards and make their way to the exit. As Akko wades through the sea of her classmates, she is smacked to the side by a turning student and their surprisingly sturdy cardboard presentation. Akko reels to the side before she is stopped by yet another piece of cardboard and a warm breath.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

She looks up from the cardboard in its shield position to the very close wide blue eyes and flushed face of its holder.

"Woah!" She jumps back, unpinning Diana from the wall. "Y-y-you ok?"

Diana blinks a few times with a quick shake of her head before responding shakily. "I am f-fine." She clears her throat. "Have you been hurt?"

"No no I'm good I'm good." She waves her hands around, noting that the rest of the students have at this point diffused into the hallway. She looks down at the now dented poster board gripped to Diana's chest. "Oh no! I'm sorry about your poster!"

"Oh, it's no problem." She says looking down at it before looking anywhere but at the brunette. "Um. Please excuse me. I have to go. Sorry."

Akko watches as the blonde turns the corner and briskly makes her way down the hallway. She continues to watch until she sees her disappear into the bathroom.

_Oh man, I hope she's really okay...But if she isn't… then maybe I'd be able to play short for the game? No! Bad Akko!_

* * *

Diana steps through the doorway of the bathroom and heads straight to the sink. After making sure she is alone in the room she grips the edges of the sink and lifts her head to look into the mirror. Her blue eyes swirling with emotion contrast all the more against the rosy tint refusing to leave her cheeks.

"Look at you." She says just louder than a whisper. "You cannot be serious."

She turns the faucet on and runs her wrists under the cool water before bringing her damp palms to her heated cheeks. She stays there for a moment before turning the faucet off and looking back at herself in the mirror. A sad but genuine smile crosses her face.

_You don't even know her, how can she make you feel like this?_

* * *

Akko's last class of the day ends far faster than anticipated. Professor Ursula had finally finished grading the essays on their Greek stories and Akko was thrilled to have earned a 91 on the assignment. When she got the paper back, after noticing the circled grade, she also noticed the red writing in the margin advising her to 'please refrain from using the term 'douche-lord' in future academic assignments' and then proceeded to curse herself for not proofreading beyond spell check before printing it out.

After class Akko meets with Lotte and Sucy in the hallway before heading to the locker room together.

"How did your chem test go Sucy?" Lotte asks.

"Eh, Lukic made it too easy." She shrugs. "I was done in fifteen minutes."

"I heard it was hard. Barbara had said she used the full time."

"Then Barbara and I have very different definitions of what is hard."

Over the last few weeks, just as Akko's attitude has changed towards Diana, the group's impressions of Hannah and Barbara (and visa versa) had gone through development as well.

After spending so much time in relatively close proximity over the last few weeks, they've managed to quell whatever hostility they've had with one another and reached a place of acquaintanceship.

At this point, Lotte might even go as far as calling Barbara a friend. They ended up bonding over the Nightfall book series after the third or fourth practice. Ever since, the two of them had been prone to long conversations about matters the rest of their group were not privy to.

At first, Hannah stuck by Barbara's side for each interaction with Lotte, perhaps even a little jealous of her best friend's new friend. But after several days of being a little lost by the conversation between them she had actually been the one to initiate conversation with Akko over studies. By no means were she and Akko close, but their common history and health classes allowed for civil conversation.

Even Amanda, who had derived so much joy from messing with the two of them, had lightened her teasing (just a little) now that they were a little less on her bad side.

"How did things end up with Amanda? Did she finally get fed up with your begging?" Sucy looks to Akko.

"Yup!"

"You have no shame." Sucy stares at her blankly.

Akko ignores her. "We're gonna meet up after practice. Do you guys want to come?"

"I'll pass." Sucy turns her eyes forward.

"Thanks Akko, but I have a test first period tomorrow and I wanted to get a little more studying in." Lotte says.

"Aww really?" The brunette pouts.

"You're the only one who needs the extra practice." Sucy drawls.

"That is just not true!"

"Yeah it is."

"Hey guys." The three look up to see Barbara standing at the doorway to the locker room with folded arms.

"Hey Barbara, what's-?"

"Amanda and Hannah are at it again." She rolls her eyes irritated. A light red fills her cheeks as she mumbles, "I just don't get why she lets her get under her skin so much."

The three look around the doorway into the locker room to see Hannah, red faced with clenched fists, gritting her teeth at Amanda who had been comparing bra sizes.

Amanda looks up at the new arrivals. "Hey Akko! You ready for our little session later?" she says wiggling her eyebrows. "Hey, what do you think? Who's got the nicer rack?" gesturing to herself and the fuming girl next to her.

"What the hell O'Neill!? Don't you dare say a word Akko!" Hannah yells. Akko remains silent, keeping her answer to herself.

"Give me my shirt back!" The auburn haired girl makes a grab behind Amanda where, sure enough, her shirt was sitting on the bench. Amanda moves in the way forcing her to smack her hip.

"Ooh, a little forward are we?" She says with a devilish smile.

Hannah glows even redder than before, rigid in rage and embarrassment.

After taking a moment to bask in her handiwork, Amanda lets out a sigh and returns the other girl's shirt. "I'm just playing around, ya know."

The other girl grabs her shirt with a huff and storms off to the other side of the room hiding her red face to finish changing.

The rest of the girls file into the locker room when it seems the dust has settled.

Barbara, who would usually have been right by Hannah's side attempting to provide defense every time her best friend and Amanda would get into it, had started leaving them to their squabbles, not because she no longer cares for her friend by any means, but because of the overwhelming urge to take the bat out of her bag and swing at the offending girl.

She knew it was teasing, relatively harmless in the long run especially since she was aware of her and Hannah's superior status, but what she couldn't understand is why she sees red whenever it happens.

She makes her way over to Hannah and nudges her.

"You okay?"

Hannah looks over to her and relaxes, shrugging her shoulders. "Yeah I'm fine. I just don't understand how she can be such a nuisance." She nudges Barbara back smiling, "thanks though."

Barbara's chest filled with warmth before being interrupted by Amanda.

"For the record, England. I think you win." She says winking.

Hannah's cheeks flare red, as does Barbara's vision.

For the most part, the practice went by smoothly.

Akko was a little afraid that Amanda wouldn't be able to help her practice afterwards because of the many stray balls 'accidentally' coming close to hitting her. She assumes Hannah and Barbara were still a little upset by Amanda's earlier comments.

During the batting portion of practice, exactly no one was surprised to see Akko hit the least amount of balls. However, most were surprised to see Lotte hit the furthest ball of the afternoon. She says it was just luck, but Akko refused to believe her and pestered her for her secret that never came.

Akko had noted that Diana had been quieter than usual. She wasn't typically a chatty individual to begin with, but something about her today seemed off. Not that she was paying super close attention to her rival's condition, she was just a little worried on whether or not it had to do with their collision after Biology. She didn't seem injured so at least she hadn't hurt her.

Despite appearing to be in a sort of funk, the blonde still wiped the floor in fielding exercises, further inspiring the brunette to make the most out of her extra practice with Amanda so she could prove to everybody that she can be just as valuable on the lineup.

She just wants to play after all.

Practice ends and with a few words about the upcoming game, Coach Croix and Ursula dismiss them. Once they return the equipment to the gear shed, Akko and Amanda turn and make their way back to the field.

* * *

_FWOOM_

"Ah!"

"Come on Cinderella, quit running from the ball."

"Hah hah, cute. Stop trying to hit me!"

"I ain't trying nothin, that pitch was perfect!"

It had been twenty minutes into their practice and Akko managed to hit a few balls, nothing particularly memorable, but still more than she had hit earlier and that was a success to her.

"Hey, Ak! Can we take a few minutes? I need to give my arm a break." The redhead says rolling her shoulder.

Akko drops her bat into the dirt and follows it onto the ground. "Yeeesss!" she groans.

She looks up to the sky, still bright, but beginning to take on the shades of the sun's descent. The clouds pass overhead slowly as she hears Amanda lay down in the dirt next to her. They lay there silently for a few minutes breathing heavily from their workout.

"Thanks for helping me out, Amanda."

"Yeah, no sweat."

They lay there a moment longer just watching as the clouds glide across the sky.

"You'll get it, ya know? Ya just gotta figure out what's choking you up." Amanda shifts her eyes to the brunette with a grin. "Once ya do there won't be a single person in the area that'll be safe."

Akko laughs and elbows her in the side. "Shut uuuuuuup!"

The two quiet their laughter and Akko releases a huge sigh.

"I think I want to prove to everybody that I can do it, and then  _that_ becomes my focus. Like, instead of thinking of how to hit the ball, I'm thinking about trying not to miss the ball. And then I get nervous and well… you know."

"Well, stop doing that then."

"Gee, you're helpful."

"No, seriously. I mean, your stance is a little sloppy too, but…" she pauses for a moment, "here, come on." Amanda gets up from the dirt, picks up Akko's bat and pokes her in the stomach. "Up, up, we're burning daylight."

Akko pushes herself up and dusts her backside off before taking the bat from the redhead.

"Just watch the ball. Don't swing." Amanda says as she drops several balls at her feet on the pitching mound and shakes her arm. Akko nods, standing in batting position.

The redhead kicks the plate a few times before readying herself. She holds the ball in front of her before stepping forward and putting it through the windmill motion. It snaps at her hip before making its way to home plate. Akko watches as the ball sails past her. "Was it supposed to be so slow?"

"Just keep watching." Amanda readies her pitch again. This time it came faster. For the next few pitches the ball came faster than the time before.

After having Akko collect the balls and throw them back to her, Amanda stretches her arm. "Alright, we're gonna try something different. Don't swing, just hold the bat out and try to touch the ball when it gets to you. But make sure you're watching it."

Akko does so as Amanda kicks the plate and sends her slow pitch towards her. Akko follows the ball with ease and makes contact with it eliciting a satisfying  _ting._ This process continues through the following pitches as they come at her faster and faster. She was pleased to realize that the only reason she missed the last pitch was simply because it was a little too close to her, but she at least saw it coming.

"Toss 'em back. One more time!"

Akko does so and prepares herself at the plate.

"Arighty, this time swing. But don't take your eyes off the ball. Ready?" Akko nods as Amanda goes into her stance.

_Okay, just watch the ball. Don't worry about not hitting it. Just watch it and do what you did before. Just move your arms more. Yeah._

She hears the snap of the ball as she watches it charge the plate.

_Come. On._

She watches until the ball is close enough and swings, eyes never leaving it's laces.

_Ting!_

The ball shoots past Amanda right towards left field.

"Yes!" The brunette cheers.

"Nice!" Amanda calls from the mound. "Let's go faster."

Over the next few pitches, Akko feels herself relaxing at the plate. By no means are her hits exceptional or anything, for the most part they result in singles or a pop out, but still, she was hitting them!

She manages to hit all but the last throw. By the time she processes the ball as being close enough, her swing is too late to meet it. But she had hit most of them! And that's what practice is for!

"AMAAAANNDAAAAA!" Akko charges the pitcher's mound.

"Woah woah! Put the bat down!"

"Thank you so much!" The brunette tackles her in a suffocating hug.

"Guhh, get off me!" She pushes the girl off who continues beam at her. "It was nothing. Just try to keep it in mind in practice aright?" She raises her fist towards Akko who hastily meets it with her own.

"Got it!"

Amanda rolls her shoulder with a yawn. "Good, now go get the balls. I'm tired."

The two leave the field laughing about time they spent in the same recreational league.

"Do-do you remember when that one girl, Mako, I think it was? When she straight up somersaulted through first base?" The redhead laughs.

"You know, it would have been really cool if she did it on purpose."

"Of course YOU'D think that!"

"Her friend was a little scary though… the one with the red thing?" Akko gestures to her head.

"Ryuko? Nah, I thought she was cool! She just got angry after that one time you made her rip her pants."

"I didn't do it!"

"Uh huh."

For a moment the two fall into a comfortable silence as they step through the grass field.

"Hey, I was thinking..."

"Uh oh..."

"Shut up!" Akko slaps her playfully on the shoulder. "I was thinking since the first game is coming up, wouldn't it be cool if we got the team together to do something?" 

"Like a pasta party?" Amanda raises her eyebrows at her.

Akko stares at her blankly. A beat passes. "A what?"

"Yeah, we did it in travelling. Ya come over, hang out and carb up so ya have plenty to burn for the game." She shrugs her shoulders. "It can be a little bori-"

"That sounds awesome! Let's do that!" Akko yelps.

Amanda sighs, "I guess we could do it at my place. My folks don't really care."

Akko squeals "This is gonna be so much fun! Like what do you guys do? Games?"

"I mean? I guess?" Amanda steps back, a little confused by the brunette's enthusiasm. "I dunno, team building bullshit and food. Whatever ya want really."

"Alright!" She calms herself, "Should we each bring something?"

"Eh, if you want." Amanda shrugs, "Jasna likes cooking so she'll probably do most of it."

"This is gonna be great! You're the best Amanda!"

"Well, duh."


	5. Stealing Second

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After waiting what feels like forever, it is finally the day of the Luna Nova Witches pasta night. However, before they can relax, the team has to work hard through the last practice before their first game. Though she finds herself prone to distraction, Akko leaves practice with a refueled resolve.

 

The day following Akko and Amanda's one on one batting practice the two made an announcement in the locker room inviting the rest of the team (coaches included) to the O'Neill residence for dinner the night before their first game.

They were surprised to find that everyone was going to attend. Amanda thought for sure that Hannah and Barbara would turn down the invitation due to their constant conflicts with her, but it seems that after Diana talked to them about the benefit of team building as well as her own intention to partake they conceded and RSVP'd.

Jasminka took on the role of making the main meal (as Amanda expected) but the rest of the team insisted on bringing drinks, snacks, and whatever else they wanted to include.

That was three excruciatingly long days ago (according to Akko). Now she waits with her hand on her cheek, longingly staring at the clock in Professor Ursula's classroom counting down the minutes until the bell so she can run to practice and be one step closer to the party.

_30 minutes._

" _And a young prince must be prudent like that,_

_giving freely while his father lives_

_so that afterwards in age when fighting starts_

_steadfast companions will stand by him_

_and hold the line. Behavior that's admired_

_is the path to power among people everywhere._ " Ursula reads aloud.

Meanwhile, Akko's face slips out of her hand, her arm still in place as her forehead lands on the desk with a light thud.

"What do you believe the author meant by this passage?" She looks around the silent classroom and is surprised to see Akko's hand "Oh! Akko?"

Akko's head shoots off the desk looking wide eyed towards her professor at the front of the room who is looking back at her hopefully.

"Uh, um." Akko looks around at her classmates for any prayer or life line. The room remains still, except for one beacon of light, Sarah Bernhardt covertly pointing to the passage Ursula had just read.

"Well, where he said… um." Akko skims through the passage quickly trying to gather any semblance of understanding. "That part about behavior being admired is the path to power… uh… you have to be able to prove yourself so that people will look up to you and uh… follow your example. And that to prove yourself you have to keep working hard even when you don't get rewarded for it so that eventually the uh... people will remember that and help you when you need it?" It came out as more of a question.

Ursula smiles at the front of the room. "Very good Akko. Politically speaking, within the story just as it is in society today, it is important to gain respect and support from others. In the story's case, Beowulf will -"

Akko releases a massive breath as Professor Ursula turns to write on the blackboard. Akko looks over to Sarah and mouths an expressive 'thank you', and bows her head quickly. Sarah responds to her with finger guns and resumes taking her notes. Akko looks back to the clock.

_Guhh… 27 minutes!_

Much to her pleasure, Akko isn't called on for the rest of the period, allowing her to wallow in the clock's ticking, every passing second taunting her with the lesson of patience. Eventually, at long last, her patience is rewarded with the sound of the alarm signaling the end of the school day.

"Today was the longest day EVER!" The brunette exclaims with a stretch once she meets up with Lotte and Sucy on the way to their lockers.

"It did seem to drag on. But I guess that's what happens when you're looking forward to something." Lotte says re-adjusting her backpack. "You ready for practice? We get our uniforms today."

Akko twists her head to face her so quickly that the two girls beside her are surprised they didn't hear her neck snap. "Oh my god! I was so excited about the party I completely forgot!" Akko groans as she deflates, "Ahh! Now practice is going to take TWO forevers!" she says pouting as they reach the lockers.

Once the three gather their belongings, slinging backpacks and bat bags over their shoulders, they make their way to the locker room. When they arrive, they are met with the sound of chatter and static from Constanze fiddling with an old boom box.

"Yo Akko! Look what we found in the back of the gear closet!" Amanda leans over Constanze handing her a screwdriver. "Conz is fixing it up so we can get some music in here."

"Ooh!" Akko looks over the short girl at the boom box. The tinkerer shoves a CD into the brunette's chest.

"The last thing this bad boy played was a Good Charlotte CD. How sad is that? Luckily Conz can fix the jack so all we need is ONE BRAVE SOUL-" the redhead says loudly causing the rest of the girls to quickly look towards her, "-to share their music library with us." They all quickly look away.

"Come on Dee Dee Cav," the blonde who was in the process of removing her shirt looks up at Amanda incredulously. "You've gotta have some bangers on your phone other than Pachelbel's Canon." The blonde merely raises her eyebrow, pausing for a moment before continuing to change.

"While your assumption of me listening to more than classical music is correct, I'm afraid you wouldn't care for my musical selection, so I will have to decline."

As she speaks, Akko can't help but look at the blonde. It's not like she's never looked at the girl while she was changing before, any of her teammates, they're all kinda right there and she was guilty of trying to compare her physique with others. But normally she'd only allow a glance or two before refocusing her eyes on the ground. Personally, she doesn't really care if people watched _her_ change, but she knows some people may not feel the same. The last thing she wants is to intentionally make anybody feel uncomfortable. However, in this moment, she finds herself hypnotized by the way the blondes abs stretch beneath soft looking skin. Her eyes dip down to the gentle crease between hip bone and muscle that shows itself at her waist as she lifts her shirt higher.

Her mind screams unintelligibly as she studies the girl before her.

The way her neck slopes to lean, muscular shoulders bowing inward to defined collarbones drawing her eye down her chest towards…

_Guhhh nice…_

Once she manages to make out the thought running through her mind, she surprises herself right out of her daze. Red faced, she quickly averts her eyes to look at the very interesting locker on the opposite side of the room.

_Woah, that was weird._

"Ooh! What could your guilty pleasure music be?" Amanda muses curling her index finger at her chin. "Hmmm. Hayley Kiyoko? Mmm, OH! I could see you dancing dirty to some filthy dubstep." She accentuates with the roll of her hips.

Diana rolls her eyes as her face reddens. "I assure you, I haven't the slightest clue of the genre you're referring to." She looks to the stiffened brunette who just moments ago abruptly turned away from her.

_Was she...? No. But..._

She looks down to her exposed front covered only by a white and blue bra, her chest and face fill with heat as she stands there feeling, while a little emboldened, far more naked than she actually is. Diana quickly picks up her shirt and pulls it over her head. She glances at the brunette from the corner of her vision curiously noting the slight relaxation of her shoulders.

"What's wrong with your music, Amanda?" Hannah asks, seeing the discomfort on her friends face, she hopes to refocus the attention back to the spiky haired girl. "I bet it's filled with sappy love ballads."

Jasminka and Constanze silently nod behind the girl in question.

"You wouldn't catch me listening to that pop-y crap! I'd totally play my stuff, but I've been told it's-" she holds her fingers up making quotations in the air "-not appropriate" rolling her eyes "for school grounds."

"Uh huh. Alright." Barbara responds.

Akko makes her way back to her locker deep in thought as Amanda and Barbara begin bantering.

_I didn't realize she had such a rockin bod. Geez… she must have no trouble meeting boys._

For some reason this thought sat sourly in her, she chalks it up to jealousy. Yeah… she's jealous... Diana gets shortstop AND the boys.

She begins changing next to Lotte and Sucy, who both notice the previously giddy girl become quiet and lost in thought.

"You okay Akko?" Sucy looks at her questioningly, the first thought in her head being that the old radio had some airborne toxin that managed to effect her friend.

"Hm?" Akko looks up unaware of her change of demeanor. "Oh yeah, I'm fine." She says throwing on a big smile. "Just thinking."

"Dangerous." Sucy says, watching her carefully.

"Oh come on!" Akko whines. Sucy smiles seeing that she is still her loud, expressive self.

"Hello girls!" Ursula walks in still wearing her teacher clothing.

"Hello Coach!" The team greets her enthusiastically.

"Hey Coach C, we found this old CD player in the back of the gear closet. It alright if we use it in the locker room?" Amanda shouts over her shoulder.

"An old-" Ursula's eyes shoot open. "Was there a CD in it?"

Amanda narrows her eyes judgingly as a small smile comes across her lips. She hands her the Good Charlotte CD, never breaking eye contact.

Ursula sucks in a breath as she takes the CD tenderly. She looks up at Amanda and speaks lowly, "I've been looking for this for years. You may use the player." She turns on her heel and walks into the Coaches Office, closing the door behind her.

A small chorus of muffled giggles make its way around the room before the girls resume their changing.

"What did you decide to bring tonight?" Akko asks looking at Lotte and Sucy as she rolls her sock up her calf. "Amanda told me I have to bring the soda." She says pouting.

Her friends look at her apologetically, though the reasoning is completely understood. The last time Akko had cooked for her friends not only were they the worst brownies any of them had ever had, but it also resulted in Lotte's bathroom being perpetually occupied for the rest of the day and Amanda missing the next few days of class due to food poisoning. So while they are aware things are better this way, they still feel badly seeing Akko's saddened face.

"I'm bringing stuffed mushrooms for appetizers." Sucy says tying her hair into a bun.

"My Mom helped me make those butter cookies you like." Lotte replies, hanging her bag in her locker. Akko gasps, her face losing all trace of its previous expression as she wiggles with joy.

"I can't wait!"

Just then the sound of static instantaneously pulses through the locker room causing the brunette and several others to jump in surprise.

"IT LIVES!" Amanda yells raising her arms. "Nice work Conz!"

Jasminka claps as Constanze smiles, humming contentedly.

"Save the first song for tomorrow," Croix says as she emerges from the Coaches Office, Ursula following closely behind adjusting her cap. "Good afternoon ladies! I know you're plenty excited for tonight, however, we've still got a lot to do during today's practice. As you should know, we have our first game tomorrow, and while you have all improved greatly since our first practice, today is not the day to be taking it easy. So, are we ready to head out?"

"Yes Coach!" The team responds in unison grabbing their bags and closing their lockers.

* * *

Once the girls reach the field and drop their gear in the dugout they line up in left field and start off with stretches. Diana, Hannah, and Barbara lead the stretches today, resulting in Akko failing miserably at her attempt to follow anyone's direction but Diana's. She couldn't stop watching her, not in a weird way she hoped. Being that she wanted to match her rival and on top of that she was not too bad to look at, Akko found herself continually drawn to the blonde's instruction. However, she hoped it was not too obvious especially after being caught several times by her gaze. When her eyes meet azure a tinge of nerves come over her, forcing her to look away in an attempt to quell them.

_I gotta focus. On. Lunges. Oh…_

Her eyes yet again drift back to the blonde in the midst of a very deep lunge. She was too distracted to scold herself, however she was relieved that Diana seemed to be heavily focused on a tuft of grass at the toe of her cleat instead of noticing her watching her… again.

"Kagari, don't hold your breath when you're stretching." Croix says as she walks around monitoring the exercise. "We don't need any of you passing out."

Akko, initially confused by being called out, realized that she was in fact holding a breath she wasn't aware of. She releases the breath slowly and resumes her stretches, desperately trying to follow the instruction of Hannah or Barbara.

_I don't want her to think I'm weird or anything… But if I want to get better I should be studying better players than me right? And Diana's perfect so, what does she expect?_

Once stretches end and Akko monologues her way out of her awkward thoughts (finally settling on the rationale that she shouldn't feel weird about watching Diana because studying her playing will make her better at softball), the girls begin their laps around the field. Fortunately, Akko knows how to run, and her decision to focus on her breath prevents her from resorting to seek out additional distractions… erm… inspiration.

The girls then split off into groups; the infield led by Croix and outfield led by Ursula.

"Alright girls, we're gonna practice pops first." Ursula adjusts her glasses as she motions the girls over to the third base foul line. "I'm going to have you start here and when I say go, run to catch it. Pretty straight forward, but try to keep up with it by looking over your shoulder, not by running backwards. Blair, would you like to go first?"

Ursula situates herself on the the foul line and tells Blair to run. Once the blonde picks up her speed, Ursula throws the ball up and hits it high into the air. The blonde turns for a moment gauging the ball's location before running to make the catch.

This exercise goes smoothly, a few times the ball was missed, but Ursula apologized seemingly under the impression she had put a little more power than necessary into the hit.

For the next exercise Ursula has the girls spread out for ground balls. Akko stands a few feet away from Sucy who she notices lifting her glove above her head to block the sun from her eyes.

"Hey Sucy, I think I have a visor in my bag if you want it."

"No. It's fine."

"Really! I'll go get it! Hold on!" Akko begins making her way through the field.

"Akko-"

"Profes- Coach Ursula! I need to run to my bag real quick! I'll be right back"

"Akko! Wait! Watch ou-!"

"I've got it!"

Akko had not heard or seen the blonde girl running towards her. Well, not towards her necessarily, but more so towards the ball heading where Akko was. Before she realizes it she is knocked flat on her back into the grass with wide blue eyes staring down at her. Once she processes the position they had fallen into she can't hear a single sound past the blood rushing to her ears. That position being Diana on top of her, kneeling between her splayed legs, with both hands pressed on her breasts pinning her to the ground.

_H-h-holy..._

Diana's usually composed expression is now a foreign vision of terror, her jaw shakes as her entire face takes on bright pink glow. Akko lay there frozen, positive the color of her face challenges that of her eyes. She feels her heart hammering in her chest, completely sure that she would be bouncing off the ground by it's force if not for the two shaking hands maintaining pressure on her chest.

After a few moments a spark of realization comes across the blonde's eyes as she looks down in horror at her hands cupping the girl beneath her. And then her eyes travel down towards the legs raised at her sides.

"Oh my god! I am so sorry!" The blonde screams retracting her hands from the stunned brunette's chest. "I-I didn't s-see you, I-I'm sorry!" She sputters as she tries to back out of Akko's crotch, catching herself before falling forward onto her.

Akko, daze broken at the loss of pressure on her chest, slowly pushes herself upwards as she reacquaints herself with her surroundings.

_Oh my god._

"A-Are you alright? I didn't mean to-" Diana manages to get herself untangled from Akko's legs and extends a shaking hand to help the brunette up.

Akko blinks a few times, hyper aware of the heat in her cheeks, her chest, her everywhere, and then notices the blonde girl's hand. She looks at it, a little afraid at first before looking up at it's owners panicked eyes, a wet sheen extenuating her blue irises against the violent blush on her cheeks. Akko gulps against her dry throat and takes the offered hand.

_It's so warm, just like everything else._

Once Akko gets to her feet she pulls her hand away and cradles it in front of her chest

"W-we gotta stop b-bumping into each other like this." Her burgundy eyes look up at the blonde as she begins to laugh desperate for some sense of relief.

Diana's horror filled expression softens at the smiling brunette and then breaks into a light smile of her own. The brunette's contagious laughter causing her to break into a shaky laugh effectively reducing the tension.

"Girls! Are you alright?" Croix calls out from the batter's box biting her lip to hold in a giggle.

The two girls quiet their laughter, a nervous energy swimming between them.

"Are you alright? I'm sorry I-" Diana attempts to compose herself.

"Oh no! I'm fine," Akko waves her hands at the worried blonde. "We're okay!" She shouts to the coaches.

She turns back to the blonde, "Don't worry, I-it'll take more than… um… that to take me down." She attempts to smile reassuringly through her beet red face, but it comes out more nervous than anything.

"I-I really am s-" the blonde is cut off.

"Damn Diana, not even running bases and you're still stealing second!" Amanda bursts out laughing followed by a few others.

Diana's eyes shoot open as a brand new blush conquers her face. She looks down to the ground clenching her fist as she picks up her dropped glove and the missed ball.

"Good catch though," the redhead snorts, "you had your hands full with that one-" she is interrupted from saying anymore by Barbara's glove being thrown at the back of her head.

"Knock it off O'Neill." Croix manages to say without making her own amusement obvious. "Walk it off girls. It happens to the best of us!" The covert wink she sends to Ursula makes the assistant coach stiffen.

Akko heads back to the outfield, visor completely forgotten, glaring at Amanda as she re-adjusts her now out of place bra. She sees Hannah and Barbara rush over to Diana to see if she is alright, and somehow within the few paces she seems to have regained her composure despite the flush on her cheeks.

"You okay Akko?" Lotte asks when the brunette gets back to her position.

Akko just laughs rubbing her head. "Yea I'm fine, it was just an accident. I've survived worse."

"Your face looks like a tomato… and you're really sweaty." Sucy points out.

"How would you react to accidentally getting groped?!" She whisper yells to the pink haired girl, looking over her shoulder to make sure Diana couldn't hear her.

"Alright girls! Back to position please!" Ursula calls from the foul line, her hat covering the light dusting of pink on her cheeks from concealed laughter. "Do you want to take a minute to sit out Akko?"

Akko looks up at her and violently shakes her head in opposition. "No! I'm really fine." Akko yells as she lowers herself into fielding position willing her blush to recede.

"Well then. Girls, I hope you paid attention. Because that is a great example of why you should always be paying attention to anything happening on the field!"

* * *

Once they finish the separated exercises the entire team takes a break for water before meeting their coaches in the infield for batting. Ursula carts the pitching machine to the pitcher's mound as Croix helps line it up with home plate.

"Alright ladies, almost there. Hustle!" Croix leans on her bat as she waves the girls over.

"Okay, for our last exercise let's get some batting in, shall we? I want you to take your positions on the field and to run the plays as if you were in a game okay? We will call you in to get on deck and when you're done return to your position until everyone has gotten the chance. Any questions?"

The girls shake their heads silently.

"Excellent. First up… Strega, Cavendish, and Kagari. The rest of you, get to your positions!"

Akko went to her bag in the dugout and nervously pulled out her batting gloves and aluminum bat.

_Why do I have to be one of the first people to go? And with DIANA. She's gonna make me look so bad! I'm already nervous and I can't stop thinking about her hands!_

After their incident, Akko couldn't help but look over to the blonde when she wasn't in immediate danger of being hit with a ball. She found she was having a hard time getting the whole thing out of her head and without her intent, her eyes kept making their way back to the other girl's ponytail. Within that time of her less than completely willing staring, she noted that the girl hadn't looked up at her ONCE. She wasn't even being subtle about it. A few times Akko had refocused her attention on what could possibly be so interesting on the ground near her.

Akko watches Blair make her way to the plate as Diana steps off to the side taking a few practice swings.

Akko rolls her bat in her hands anxiously looking between the batter's box and Diana.

_Is she that embarrassed? I never really pegged her as the type who cared what others thought. I guess I don't really know her at all._

Her burgundy eyes follow the blonde's movements as she swings through in her practice.

_At this rate, the party's gonna be super awkward. I gotta say something! But what do I say?!_

She fights herself in an inner monologue as her feet move towards the blonde readying another swing.

"Hey, Diana."

The girl stops herself mid swing and looks to the brunette from the corner of her eye.

"Y-yes? Erm. Do you need help?"

"I was just um…" Akko starts quietly tapping her bat against her heel, "...hoping that things wouldn't get weird with us… it- it was just an accident ya know? Nothing to really be embarrassed about."

Diana slowly turns towards Akko, lowering her bat and eyes with a twinge of guilt. She is relieved to know that the shadow falling over her face from her helmet was at least covering most of her flushed face.

"We're teammates you know? We're gonna do a bunch of embarrassing things in front of each other." A low heat creeps up her neck as she smiles at the blonde.

"So are we cool?" The brunette sticks her hand out towards her.

Diana contemplates her hand for a moment before raising her eyebrows with a small smile. "Yes, of course. We're… cool." She takes the offered hand and gives it a light shake.

_Oh, thank goodness._ The blonde mentally exhales _._

"Good!" Akko lets out an exaggerated breath, "I was worried this was going to make tonight super awkward but I feel so much better now!" Her eyes shoot open as she freezes. "You're still coming right?"

A smile spreads across Diana's face as she stifles a laugh. "Yes… I will still be coming."

"Good!"

"Hey Di, you're up! We know you two have no problem with PDA, but save the flirting for after practice!" Amanda yells waiting to feed the ball into the pitching machine.

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!" Akko yells back at her.

Diana rolls her eyes and steps up to the plate. She shuffles her feet for a moment before bringing the bat back.

Amanda pops the ball into the machine and it rockets towards the blonde- only to be returned in the form of a line drive narrowly missing the girl on the mound.

"Woah!" Amanda ducks, lifting her glove in a poor attempt to protect herself. "Ya trying to hit me?" She yells at Diana as she runs the first base line.

"If I was trying, you wouldn't be standing." She winks at the spikey haired girl as she runs through the bag safely.

Sucy, who had been in center field, returns the ball to Amanda in yet another very impressive throw as Diana makes her way back to the dugout.

"Good luck." The blonde says quietly to Akko, briefly placing her hand on the brunette's shoulder before removing her helmet and grabbing her glove.

"Thanks." Akko smiles back before taking in a deep breath and stepping towards the batter's box.

"You've got it Akko!" Lotte yells from right field.

"Yeah Akko!" A few other girl's chime in, making her just a little more nervous.

Over the last week she had definitely improved in her hitting both from Coach Ursula's tips as well as her extra practice with Amanda. However, despite her growing confidence, when it comes to standing in the batter's box she has a checklist she recites like a mantra every time she gets to the plate.

_You've got it Akko. First you square up, hold out the bat, breathe, watch the ball... Watch the ball._

"Ey Akko! Don't worry! Ready?" Amanda calls from the mound spinning the ball on her fingertip.

Akko responds by getting into position with a determined nod of her head.

Amanda lowers the ball and it flies towards the plate.

Akko watches it get closer and closer. She tightens her grip on the neck of the bat and once it gets close enough she swings.

_Ting! Bang!_

The ball fouls off the bat and slams into the side of the dugout.

"Oooh!" Akko grumbles fixing herself at the plate once again.

"Lead with your elbow!" Ursula calls out from the sideline as she holds her glove in front of her (just in case).

Akko knits her eyebrows together and takes a practice swing before re-adjusting herself at the plate. She nods her head towards Amanda once more. The redhead feeds the ball into the machine and it fires towards her again.

_One…watch it… two...grip… three!_

_Ting!_

Akko swings, her bat follows all the way through as the ball bounces, kicking up dirt in the infield.

"Yes!" She sprints down the baseline. From the corner of her vision she sees Hannah scoop up the ball and throw it towards first. The only sounds she can hear are that of her helmet rattling against her ponytail and the drumming of her heart rate in her ears as she races the ball. She lowers her head and wills her legs to quicken.

"Safe!" Croix calls out as Akko runs through the base. She hears the ball smack into Jasminka's glove as she leaps off the base and slows her run.

"Nice hit Akko!" Amanda calls from the mound as Jasminka gives the brunette a pat on the back on her way back to the dugout. Akko tries to hide her beaming smile as she takes off her helmet and picks up her bat.

Once she puts the bat back into her bag she grabs her glove and runs out to left field. As she passes the infield she looks over to Diana at shortstop. The blonde smiles at her softly clapping her hand to her glove before refocusing on the next at bat leaving Akko practically skipping the rest of the way into the outfield.

* * *

To Akko, in a great twist of expectation, the remainder of the practice went by in a blur. Before she knows it she is back in the locker room, waiting patiently on the bench beside her teammates for the coaches to hand out uniforms. Coach Meridies and Callistis step out of the Coaches office with their hands filled with bags of folded shirts, pants, and belts.

"Ladies. We'd like to start off by saying that we're very proud of all the work you've put into your practice. Many of you have improved immensely since our first practice and Coach Callistis and I want you to know we appreciate your continual effort. Now, I know you're excited about the get together tonight, which, thank you for the invitation Miss O'Neill, we will both be there." She says gesturing to herself and Ursula.

Amanda gives Croix a two finger salute with the nod of her head.

"We just want to remind you to make sure you get your rest tonight and to please refrain from doing anything that may force us to remove you from the first game. It happens. Trust me. I know." Ursula elbows her in the side while pinching the bridge of her nose. "But that is a story for another time." Croix coughs before continuing with a smile. "Now, without further ado, I believe it is time to officially make you ladies Witches."

The locker room erupts in 'whoop's and foot stomping before Croix has them quiet down.

"Alright, we will call you up to get your uniforms and then you are free to go. We will see you tonight!"

"Robinson. Ten"

"England. Six."

"Ama- Constanze. The whole name's there, we made sure. Five. "

For the next few minutes Akko bounces in her seat waiting for her name to be called. It seems like every other person in the locker room has ygotten up for their uniform. Panicked thoughts of wardrobe malfunctions, botched order forms, and forgotten packages filled her mind as she begins biting her fingernails.

"Kagari"

Akko jumps from her seat and bounds towards Ursula, all her previous anxiety vanishing from sight.

"Congratulations Akko." Ursula smiles warmly at her as she holds up the last uniform. "Keep working hard, you're doing great."

Akko beams as she takes the blue and maroon uniform in her hands. She sees 'Kagari' stitched across the back and carefully unfolds the shirt to see a large number 7 below it.

She looks back and forth gaping much like a goldfish between Ursula, Croix, and her uniform. "T-this- this is- Oh my ga-!" she squeals attracting the attention of everyone inside and outside of the locker room. "This is Chariot's number!" She bounces back to Lotte and Sucy waving her uniform top around and making a variety of mysterious noises.

Croix subtly nudges Ursula with her hip and smiles at her with a raised eyebrow. The assistant coach merely looks back at the other woman, matches her smile and shrugs.

After a minute or so, Sucy and Lotte manage to calm their friend who had nearly been in tears. She holds the shirt close to her chest before carefully folding it and putting it into her bag, zipping it tight.

_One more step towards my dream! With Chariot's number, I know I can do it! This is the best day ever! And the party hasn't even started yet!_

 

 

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel I must clarify... I LOVE Good Charlotte. The reason I wrote it was because I was listening to it. If my aging math is sort of close, Good Charlotte would have been popular when Ursula and Croix were in high school.
> 
> So no hate. Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous album was my shit.


	6. Well You Better Go Catch It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And at long last, it is finally time for the team pasta potluck. A night full of food and laughter make way for confusion and clarity as team building exercises bring everyone just a little closer together.

 

Akko, Sucy, and Lotte walk up the familiar walkway towards the front door of the O'Neill residence. It is by no means her first time at the house, but Akko always seems to forget that the redhead's family is more or less unabashedly loaded. She knows her family owns a chain of stores in the U.S., but walking towards the massive house never ceases to amaze her.

Aside from her wealthy upbringing, Akko did not really envy Amanda's home life. Unlike her, the smart-mouthed redhead never really got along with her family. Ever since she was little, her parents, being very busy with running their business overseas, tended to consider her with minimal importance. She had used to spend a lot of time with her grandmother, but since her passing and ability to fend for herself, she had found herself left home alone more often than not.

At the start of middle school, Amanda had been introduced to Constanze and Jasminka through their shared inclination towards getting detention. That same year they found themselves on the same recreational little league team and from there became inseparable. At this point, Akko wouldn't be surprised if Jasminka and Constanze have their own toothbrushes in Amanda's bathroom based on how much time they spend together at the house.

Once they reach the door, Akko fumbles with the soda bottles filling her arms as he tries to press the doorbell. After a very close call with the bottle of Mountain Dew she resorts to pressing the button with her nose. After a moment of waiting they hear the steady sound of footsteps until Amanda answers the door.

"It's about time! It's been super awkward with ginger, posh, and scary spice in the kitchen babysitting us. Come on." Amanda says quickly ushering them into the kitchen.

They walk in to see Jasminka leaning over the oven with a tray of cheese, tomato sauce, and pasta in her oven mitt clad hands, Sarah standing in one leg, stretching over Constanze helping her grab a plate from the microwave, and Hannah, Barbara, and Diana standing by the counter with crossed arms.

"Who ordered the strippers!?" Amanda calls out presenting the three girls. "Di? Ya shouldn't have! Though they do look a little cheap for your standards."

"Hey!" Akko pouts as the blonde rolls her eyes and bites the inside of her cheek.

"Put your stuff on the counter over there, and uh… drink… be merry." She waves her hand in the general vicinity of whatever before heading back to help Jasminka pull a second tray out of the oven.

They spent the next 10 minutes or so waiting for the rest of the team to arrive. Barbara and Lotte started talking about class but once the conversation turned to Nightfall, Hannah and Diana, who were by her side, turned to each other and fell into quiet conversation amongst themselves. Akko and Sucy made their way over into the thick of the kitchen's activity (i.e, right in front of the oven) to talk with Amanda and Jasminka.

"You saved my life in English today! Thank you so much!" Akko yells as she pulls a startled Sarah into a crushing hug. "I think Professor Ursula is the only teacher I have who doesn't think I'm an idiot!"

"Don't mention it, Akko." She awkwardly pats the brunette's head. "And I-I'm sure that's not true."

"Yeah… I'm sure she thinks you're an idiot too." Sucy says not so comfortingly.

The moment Akko sticks her tongue out at her straight-faced friend, they hear a knock on the door. "Speak of the devil." The pink haired girl comments as Ursula and Croix walk in wearing matching Luna Nova sweatshirts and jeans, carrying plastic plates and disposable cups.

"Hello girls!" Ursula greets with a big smile as she enters the kitchen, placing her and Croix's things on the table.

"Miss O'Neill," Croix looks around, "didn't you say your parents would be overlooking this tonight?"

"Oh yeah," Amanda says waving her hand. "The old lady is upstairs working. She just said to keep the volume down and to be out by 9-"

_Knock knock knock knock!_

"I'm comin'!" She yells, swiftly moving around Croix and jogging to the door.

The lilac haired head coach, brushing aside the feeling that there was a 90% chance that Amanda's mother was probably not home, makes her way through the kitchen saying hello to her team before sidling up next to Ursula and begins to talk quietly.

Amanda opens the door to see Avery, Mary, and Blair carrying chips and other various snacks.

"We thought you told us the wrong address but then we saw the coaches." Mary shrugged, a nervous laugh escaping her lips.

"Geez Amanda," Avery looks around the entrance wide eyed, clearly dazzled by the ornate foyer, "you don't look like you live like this."

"Well, thanks... I'll ignore that you said that," she stares at them blankly. "But please… come in…"

The last of the team make their way gawking to the kitchen and place their contributions on the table before joining in with the mass chatter.

Jasminka pulls the last of the food out of the oven, waving Akko away as she gets too close. Jasminka and Constanze set the food onto the counter with minimal rhyme or reason as Amanda starts whipping plastic plates at people like frisbees. At last, with the clang of two metal serving spoons, Jasminka announces that dinner has been served.

After attacking the buffet style counter, Akko makes her way over to the dining table balancing her plastic plate piled high with a generous helping of pasta, garlic bread, chicken and various appetizers. She mentally congratulates herself for not dropping anything on her way to the table as she lowers herself into the chair between Sucy and Amanda. Across the table she looks to Diana and at the sad, albeit much healthier portion of pasta, salad and appetizers sitting on her plate. She daintily takes a bite of her salad beside Hannah and Barbara who do the same before sampling the rest of their food.

It's been hours, and she knows she said she hoped things wouldn't get weird between the two, but she could NOT stop thinking about the blonde. Though at the time the accident was absolutely horrifying, now Akko can't stop picturing herself on the ground with the shortstop's weight against her.

She panics as she notices blue eyes rising to meet hers. She redirects her head to look down at her plate and then proceeds to not so subtly shove a forkful of pasta into her cheeks only to freeze when it touches her tongue.

The brunette lets out a loud moan unexpectedly, causing Diana to widen her eyes and rigidly attempt to hide her growing blush by quickly refocusing on her plate.

A few of the girls begin giggling as the coaches sit stock still eyes shifting awkwardly between each other and their student.

"Isso gooo!" Akko groans, completely oblivious to the expressions around her, too busy being enamored by the creamy baked pasta she takes another fork into her open mouth.

"Damn Jas, ya outdone yushelf." Amanda commends through a mouthful of her own. "Akko was louder than last time." Jasminka smiles, eyes shining, and claps happily.

The meal continues with talk of embarrassing stories, sports, school, and typical rumors. Mid-meal, with a ring Amanda's mother's name popped up on the redhead's phone asking her to bring up a plate of food. Amanda rolls her eyes and does so, leaving the table for a few minutes earning conflicted glances from the two coaches.

Akko inhales her meal, going for seconds, and is only out-mealed by Jasminka herself. The rest of the girls had set their plates aside and re-engaged in conversation while some just watch in awe as the two girls continue to eat.

With Jasminka emerging as victor, sore stomached and only a little bitter, Akko collects the plates and cleans off the table. As she brings the plates over to the trash she glances over the counter top, her eyes honing in on one absolutely beautiful thing in particular.

"WHO BROUGHT THE FRUIT TART?!" She screams way too over the top, alarming everyone at the dining table.

"Dude, how can you even think about food right now?" Amanda yells back.

"I was starting to get sick watching you eat." Sucy adds.

"Guh! Whoever it is, I love you and you are the best!" She says turning back to the mess on the counter.

Diana sits there taking a sip out of her plastic cup, conveniently hiding her pinkened face.

_Why does she do this to me?_

* * *

Once Akko had completely cleared and cleaned up dinner she returns to the rest of the team who had migrated to Amanda's entertainment room where the host has begun setting up video game dance mats.

Ursula and Croix wait by the doorway a little unsure of whether or not they should be staying any later. This was their first time coaching a team, and if they're going to be honest, they aren't sure on what is appropriate. On one hand, at least in Croix's case, she feels a twinge of responsibility to supervise. She's not 100% convinced Amanda's mother was in the house despite the alleged phone call and has been debating on whether or not she should investigate further.

She and Ursula had been privy to Amanda's family matters. At this point it is common knowledge to most of the teachers that have her as well as most that do not. The girl was not choosy in regards to where, when, and to whom her delinquent behavior would present itself. The teachers and principal meetings have yielded the knowledge that Miss. O'Neill's parents are emotionally distanced from her. Whether or not her rebellious behavior is a product of her home life or is the cause of it is unclear, however, Croix couldn't deny that she felt bad for the girl. She didn't care to admit it, but aside from Amanda's abysmal work ethic, she sees a little bit of herself in the girl. Over the last month or so she had taken a shine to the redhead and felt a strange sense of maternalism that wants to look out for the girl's well-being.

On the other end, from a professional standpoint, she doesn't think it would be wise to let the students convince Ursula to get onto the dance mat. She looks over her shoulder at the blue haired woman who is clearly excited to see that people still played dance games. It would definitely not take much convincing.

"Who's up first?!" Amanda asks warming herself up jumping on the dance mat. "Akko? No. I don't want to clean your vom." Akko crawls onto an open section of couch, crosses her arms and huffs.

"Coach M? Coach C?"

"Absolutely not O'Neill." Croix says as she places a hand on Ursula's shoulder as she attempts to make a movement forward. Ursula deflates, looking back at her. Croix takes a quick glance down to the woman's leg and then returns to her eyes. Ursula rolls her eyes and takes a step back to the other woman.

_I guess she's right... But I haven't gotten the chance to do this in years!_

"I'll do it!" Avery stands from her seat and makes her way to the mat, Mary and Blair cheer for her.

"Alright Ave! The rest of you are cowards!" Amanda says inviting the purple haired girl to the neighboring mat. "Difficulty?" The girl asks entering the settings.

"Whatever." The girl says removing her hair clips.

"Medium it is, that way you'll maybe stand a chance."

Once the randomly generated song begins it is very clear that Amanda takes this very seriously. While Avery is making the steps, she finds herself having a hard time keeping up with Amanda's.

Croix looks over to Ursula who is fully engrossed with the arrows on the screen. She suppresses a giggle at the woman lightly moving her body along with the game.

At the end of the song, Amanda had won with more 'perfects' than any other rating, she then calls out to a new challenger. Amanda had danced up against Blair, Sarah, Constanze, and Lotte, defeating them all.

"I could do this all day!" The spiky haired girl says wiping her brow.

Meanwhile on the couch, Barbara had been pestering Hannah relentlessly, even Diana had been encouraging her to give the game a shot.

"Fine. Fine! I'll do it. Stop hitting me Barb!"

"Yes!" Barbara squeals bouncing on the couch cushion shoving the other girl forward. .

"Alright England!" Amanda smirks at her. "Want me to set it to easy for ya?"

"Not at all." Hannah walks to the mat confidently. "What's the highest difficulty?"

"Oh boy. Remember, you asked for it." Amanda grins giddily and adjusts the difficulty. "Ready ginger?"

"I ask the same to you." Hannah squints determined at the screen.

Barbara and Diana lean forward, not at all hiding their smug faces.

For the next minute and a half, Amanda experienced getting thoroughly spanked by the auburn-haired girl. Scoring 'perfect' rating after 'perfect' rating on the highest difficulty, Hannah not only out-steps the rebel, but choreographs arm movements as well all while not compromising her final score. Ursula watches on with utter glee as the rest of the room stares in amazement. At the end of the round, the sound of applause for Amanda's dethroning by the new dance champion was almost deafening.

The two girls breathe heavily before Hannah smiles, winks at the exhausted redhead, and flips her hair as she turns to make her way back to the couch. Amanda offers her a slow applause, despite being a sore loser, she was genuinely astounded by the other girl's performance.

"You did say you danced." Amanda says breathlessly. "I assumed you meant the pole, but hey."

"AMANDA!" A scream is heard from the second floor. The entire living room silences and looks around meekly.

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THE VOLUME!?"

Amanda rolls her eyes and takes in a breath. "SORRY MOTHER! WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN!"

Croix looks to Ursula and raises her eyebrows.

_Whaddya know. She wasn't lying…_

Amanda clears her throat lowering her voice, "I don't know about you guys, but I worked up my appetite. You wanna get the dessert train going?"

"YES!" Akko and Jasminka yell rocketing from the couch towards the kitchen.

One whole fruit tart and a plate of butter cookies later, the team returns to the living room to digest while Constanze plugs her laptop into the television and puts on a movie.

Relieved that there is another adult in the house to watch the girls, Croix finally feels comfortable to make her leave.

"Alright ladies. Thank you all for organizing this team building potluck. I feel I must advise you to not stay up too late this evening, there is still class tomorrow. Don't forget your uniforms and make sure to be in the locker room on time."

Ursula retrieves her bag and accompanies Croix. "With all the hard work you ladies have been showing, we have the utmost faith that tomorrow's game will be impressive."

"Aww you're leaving too, Professor?" Akko asks a little disappointed as she watches Ursula pull her bag over her shoulder.

"I'm afraid so. Coach Meridies gave me a ride, so I have to head out as well." She says with an apologetic smile.

"We expect to see your best tomorrow. Have a good night ladies." Croix waves as she and Ursula step out the door.

As they drive away the chorus of  _The Anthem_ can be heard from the house. Amanda shuts the door with a snort and turns back to the rest of the team.

"Yo, the two of them are totally doing it right?" Amanda says.

"Oh my god, I thought I was the only one who thought that." Barbara yells.

"Absolutely." Lotte and Sucy chime.

"I ship it." Blair shrugs.

Constanze nods solemnly.

"No way!" Akko protests. "They're just old friends!"

"Okay Akko. Sure." Mary comes over and pats her shoulder.

Diana stands from her seat. "Well, this has been a nice time, however it is nearing 9 o clock, so as to respect your mother's request should we be heading ou-"

"Simmer down party pooper, my old lady ain't home."

"WHAT?" A chorus exclaims around the room.

"Constanze called my phone and set up a recording of her yelling. We needed some way to make the coaches happy." Amanda fist bumps Constanze and then claps her hands together with a smirk. "Now let's start the real fun."

* * *

It takes a few minutes of convincing, but Amanda manages to get everyone into a circle in the middle of her living room.

"Well, what is it you consider 'real fun' then?" Diana asks sitting herself cross legged beside Hannah and Barbara.

"I am glad you asked!" Amanda straightens her posture as she takes her phone out of her back pocket. "I just so happen to have gotten my hands on Finny's phone number last week… and I was thinking of giving her a little call."

"Absolutely not! Are you aware of how much trouble-" Diana stops herself, feeling a little foolish. Of course she knows. She's Amanda O'Neill. She lives for this. She watches as the smirking girl flips her phone between her fingers. "Rather, do you want to risk getting expelled from the team for a prank?"

Amanda scoffs at her, "That's only if ya get caught, princess. And don't you worry, I won't be getting caught. Conz here hooked us up with a burner."

"And if they recognize your voice?"

"That won't be a problem." She smiles as she throws the dialing phone into the group of girls. They collectively jump, swatting the phone away from them until it is accidentally flung into Akko's temple.

"Ow!" She groans as she rubs her head. "You su-"

' _Hello, Anne speaking'_

The sound of the speaker phone causes the room to fall into silence. Akko panics looking at the phone that had landed in her lap.

_Ah ah ah ah ah what do I do?_

"Is your refrigerator running?!" She screams the first thing that comes to mind.

' _Excuse me?!'_

"Okay bye!" She yells fumbling to disconnect the call.

The phone goes dark and Akko releases a giant exhale as the rest of the living room bursts into laughter.

"That. Was the WORST prank call I have ever heard!" Mary howls.

"Hey! It surprised me!"

"But the fact that that's the first thing that came to your mind!" Sucy cackles.

Barbara, Hannah, and Diana struggle to maintain composure. Their shoulders shake from contained laughter until Barbara's face cracks. "YOU DIDN'T EVEN GET TO THE PUNCH LINE!" As she dissolves into laughter, Hannah follows her example and they fall into each other. Diana takes in a deep breath trying to quell herself.

_Wow, I mean I know she's laughing at me but her smile's just… she's so pretty._ Akko can't help but notice the struggle taking place on the blonde's face.

"Okay Akko," Amanda says wiping away a tear. "I'll give ya chance to redeem yourself over that one. I also swiped Badcock's number so-"

"No no no! Enough of that!" Akko cuts her off waving her hands wildly in disapproval before turning her eyes on her friend darkly. "Let's play truth or dare."

Four minutes later Amanda and Barbara were splayed out across a Twister mat, Sucy was wearing Lotte's glasses, and it was now known that Avery sleeps with a plush moose she got from her grandfather.

Jasminka spins the empty soda bottle for Amanda, being that she lacked a free hand to do so herself. The girls sit and watch as the bottle slows it's rotation, landing on the next victim.

"Okay…Akko," Amanda challenges the brunette. "Truth or Dare?"

"Mmm…" she hums in contemplation. Under normal circumstances she would pick dare, however, Amanda has a sick sense of humor and in the past has demonstrated just how creative she could be. So, she decided on the safer choice...

"Truth."

"Alright, fine." The redhead says, disappointment evident in her tone, as she struggles to keep herself balanced in order to avoid an even more awkward position with Barbara. "Akko," she smiles evilly, "are you a top or a bottom?"

A few girls around the room snort as Akko just looks at her confused. "What's that mean?" Prompting more laughter.

Diana, red eared and straight faced, finds herself very interested in the legs of the couch. Oh she knew where this was going.

"You know...You looked awfully comfortable being a bottom at practice today."

_And there it is. Tactless, as expected._

It takes Akko a moment of confusion before realization dawns on her face along with a violent blush. She whips her head between Amanda and Diana, who had lowered her head and was squeezing the bridge of her nose.

She frantically sputters as she tries to hide her blush. "I-it was an accident! I don't even-! I've never even kissed a-! What kinda question-?!"

"That was wildly inappropriate O'Neill. Why must you be so immature." Diana says shaking her head, hand still up at her face.

"Oh, using my last name? I'm sensing a top. Oof!" She is silenced by Barbara's knee crashing into her stomach before toppling onto the mat next to her. "Damn Babs…" she wheezes as she rolls away from the raven-haired girl.

"Oops… leg slipped." She says without a shred of remorse as she moves herself back to Diana's side.

Once the laughter dies down and Akko remembers how to form full sentences she punches Amanda's shoulder. "Ha ha. Very funny..."

"I try…" Amanda grumbles, nursing her stomach.

"Anyway! My turn!" Akko calls out making a reach for the bottle. She spins it, hoping to get Amanda back for her embarrassing question but falls quiet when it lands on the blonde girl sitting across from her.

All Diana can do is look up from the bottle with wide eyes.

_Of all people… What do I even ask her? Why does she look scared?_

She shakes her head out of her thoughts and asks the obvious question. "Uh… um… Truth or Dare?"

The blonde looks over to her and mulls over the question.

After a long pause she speaks up. "...Truth."

"Hmmm" Akko hums looking her dead in the eyes.

_For real what do I ask her? What kind of shampoo do you use? No, that's weird. How many squats do you do outside of practice? No. What are the answers to Finnelan's homework for tonight? No!_

_This was a mistake. I should have chosen the dare. Akko's sweet, she wouldn't have done anything excessive. But she has spent a lot of time with Amanda… I mean. I don't think she'd ask… but if she did? I could just… not answer honestly? I've grown into quite the coward…_

"What was the most awkward date you've ever been on?"

She looks at the brunette. At first she felt relieved, but after taking a moment to contemplate the question she finds herself a little disheartened.

The rest of the girls look towards the blonde in anticipation.

"I'm afraid I have no such experience. I have yet to go on a first date."

"Wait, seriously?" Amanda coughs.

"Is there a problem with that?" She eyes the redhead pointedly.

"I mean, I know you're a dork and all, but-"

"I hardly think that being involved in my studies defines me as a do-"

"But you're like, stupid hot!?" Akko exclaims from the other side of the circle. "The guys must be all over you! How have you never been on a date?"

Diana's breath hitches in her throat as she feels her heart battering against her chest.

_Did… she just… call me...hot?_

Her brain backfires, unable to grasp the concept of words or reactions. This lasts for a moment before she begins to plummet from the high.

_But…Guys. Guys… She assumes I date men. Of course she would. If she's interested in men, why would she think otherwise._

As a sadness comes over her, suddenly she is aware of the eyes on her around the room. Akko's big burgundy ones in particular.

_How long have I been silent for?_

"I-I just… haven't met a… guy that I've liked enough to go out with." She forces out softly, a redness taking over her cheeks and a guilt settling in her stomach.

_Not a lie._

"But like, you're-"

"Alright! She answered your question, let's move on!" Hannah butts in cutting Akko off. Hannah had never seen Diana clam up like this before, and judging by the look on Barbara's face she was not alone in noticing. "What about you Akko? Have you ever been on a date before?" She attempts to divert the attention away from the suddenly stoic blonde.

"I mean… kinda... I guess. I think?"

"Wait, really?" Lotte and Sucy look over to her disbelievingly.

With the group refocused on Akko's tale of when she was in third grade where a boy asking her to come play soccer with him, ending with Akko having kicked the ball into his face knocking out three teeth and giving him a concussion, Hannah leans over to a stone-faced Diana and whispers in her ear.

"Are you okay?"

The blonde looks over to her with the best poker face she could muster. "Of course, what could be wrong?"

"You just… seem a little- nevermind. You know you can talk to Barb and me right?"

Her blue eyes look over her friends face for a moment as she nervously clenches her teeth. "Of course. I appreciate you saying so, but I assure you, there is nothing wrong." She says as she turns her attention to see Sarah and Amanda breaking the news to Akko that if  _that_  was the only date she's been on, she's never actually been on a date.

Barbara and Hannah meet each other's eyes.

Over the last two years, they've both had a suspicion about their blonde friend. They don't have evidence or anything, but aside from one another, they've known Diana the longest and they could just tell there was something eating at her. They had their suspicions, but wouldn't dare say anything until their friend was ready.

The rest of their game of truth or dare went by without too much drama. Jasminka could lift the couch with Akko and Sucy sitting on it, apparently Mary had once hot-wired a car, only because she wanted to see if she could copy what the protagonist in one of her favorite movies did, Akko had to drink some smoothie concoction Sucy made out of leftovers, Blair was wearing purple underwear, Lotte has written smutty fanfiction, the last song Hannah listened to was the Glee cover of  _Smooth Criminal_ , Amanda had to sit on the couch upside down for 10 minutes, Constanze had to cover her cheeks in peanut butter, and Sarah had let Constanze post something on her social media which ended up being a short video of a child repeating the words "I smell like beef". Before they knew it it was quarter past eleven and Amanda was walking to the front door.

"Aright people," Amanda yawns, "it's late, get out of my house. Conz, Jas, get back here."

Apparently, a majority of the team had been keeping their families and rides in the loop in regards to when to pick them up. Akko, however, was not among that majority, nor were Lotte and Sucy because the brunette said that she would take care of it when the plan was to leave at 9.

"Uuhhhh..." The brunette stares at the two of them apologetically. "Oops…"

"I'm not even surprised." Sucy says closing her eyes.

"I'm sorry! I just thought we could walk back! But now that it's really late…"

"Is there anyone you can call?" Lotte asks. "My parents aren't answering their phone."

"Is there a problem?" The three turn around to see Diana, Hannah, and Barbara waiting for their ride.

"We kinda ran into some trouble in getting rides home." Akko scratches the back of her head nervously.

"By 'we', she means 'she' and by 'ran into some trouble' she means 'completely forgot we had to get home'. Sucy clarifies.

"Sucyyyyy" she hisses quietly.

"If you need a ride home, my family's car should have enough seating. If you would like."

"You'd really give us a ride!?" Akko jumps right up into Diana's face, causing the blonde to flinch. "You're a lifesaver Diana! Thank you so much!" The brunette wraps the other girl into a tight hug effectively stunning her.

"I-it is not a problem. P-please let me go. I- you are very strong." The blonde struggles to get air back in her lungs as well as distance between herself and the person making her stomach flutter.

Akko releases her and steps back beaming, "Sorry! You're just so much nicer than I thought you were. And has anybody told you that you smell really REALLY good?"

Before she could question the first part of Akko's statement, her brain hitched from the amount of blood rushing to her face from the second part. "I don't believe so, but t-thank you."

Hannah and Barbara watch the exchange with curious analytical eyes.

_No way... Really Di? Her?_

Barbara looks over to Hannah who is biting her lip to keep from smiling.

"I CALLED IT" she silently mouths to her friend.

"That won't be a problem, would it girls?" Diana turns towards her friends who quickly put on masks of indifference.

"I guess it's fine." Barbara yawns rolling her eyes.

"Whatever." Hannah shrugs. "You're too kind for helping that charity case." She says eyeing the blonde's nonexistent response

Akko narrows her eyes at the auburn-haired girl who begins walking towards the large car that just pulled up to the curb.

_Are we friends? Are we not friends? I don't get that girl!_

The blonde heads to the car, a really nice, really expensive looking SUV, and turns inviting Akko, Lotte, and Sucy to follow. "Just let Adler know where to drive to."

The three girls follow Diana to the car and tell the driver, Adler, their addresses before climbing into the backseat of the spacious car.

"Thank you so much Diana." Lotte leans forward in her seat before buckling her safety belt.

"Yeah, thank you." Sucy adds.

"Mhm!" Akko nods expressively.

Once all the girls have been seated, the driver pulls away, cueing an extraordinarily quiet ride.

Barbara and Lotte had exhausted any pressing topics in Nightfall over the last few hours, and even two huge fans needed a little break once in a while. Everyone just silently looked through the windows out into the dark night.

_Oh my god. I can't believe I told her I think she smells good. She's going to think I'm so weird! Stupid, stupid Akko! Maybe she'll buy that I'm just really tired… or that Sucy's smoothie made me drunk or something… without alcohol. Guhh! Maybe she'll just forget about it. Yeah. Maybe she'll forget._

_Why am I getting so hung up on this? So she thinks I smell nice. That doesn't mean anything. Right? Right. I mean, I think my shampoo has a pleasant aroma. Why is my heart racing for such a silly compliment? Why must she have such a prominent place in my thoughts? This crush is completely irrational. I need to separate myself… but I...no. I need some rest. It would be so much easier to distance myself if Barbara and Lotte hadn't become so close._

_Akko… she likes Akko. I mean, she's not the worst? But like, I couldn't imagine coming out of the closet for that disaster. Hannah totally called it though, she's always been really intuitive about that kind of thing… it's one of the many things I love about her, though it can get super annoying..._

_I caaaaalled it, I caaaaalled it. Oh man, I want to talk to her about it so badly! Why can't she be ready yet?! I wonder if she already knew she liked girls or if she's just realizing it with Akko. I mean her signs have been subtle, but they've always been there. Wait… I didn't even consider…is Akko into girls? I mean she was blushing… and she called her hot...but… Hmm, I've gotta find out for sure... I wonder if her friends have any idea. Maybe Barb can talk to Lotte. She reads those trashy romance novels, she's bound to know something._

_Thank goodness! I was so nervous for nothing! I thought there was going to be actual spin the bottle or strip poker or something. I need to stop reading so much fan fiction...Though, I can't believe Akko didn't know what a top or bottom was. She's so innocent._

_Akko's being awfully quiet. Oh, that would suck if my smoothie made her sick. All over Diana's car. Hehe._

"Did you ladies enjoy your gathering this evening?" The driver asks, breaking the silence.

A quiet chorus of hums and yes's fill the car for a moment before quieting down again.

"Thank you again for driving me and my teammates home, Adler." Diana says.

"It is my pleasure, Miss. Anna greatly appreciated your updates, though your Aunt may wish to have a word come morning."

Hannah and Barbara roll their eyes at the mention of Daryl as Diana straightens herself. "Very well. Thank you, Adler."

"Hey Akko," Lotte whispers. "Did you get your history homework done in study hall?"

The brunette's haywire train of thought screeches to a halt as she looks to her friend in abject horror. She smacks her hands to her face and groans into them. "Nooo. I completely forgot!" She suddenly lifts her head. "Did Badcock give us homework too?"

"That depends… did you finish the worksheet during class?"

"Ohhhh!" Akko's groan is muffled by her hands being reacquainted with her face.

Barbara and Hannah look unimpressed at the grumbling girl.

_For real Diana?_

The blonde faces forward with a nearly invisible smile tugging at her lips, her eyes watching the brunette in the rear-view mirror.

A few minutes later, Adler pulls up in front of Lotte's house. Since it is only a four-minute walk to their own respective houses, Akko and Sucy insist that they walk the rest of the way.

"Are you certain? It is not out of the way at all Miss." Adler says to the brunette.

"No, it's okay." She says respectfully. "Thank you very much though."

"She just wants to procrastinate a little longer before doing her homework." Sucy yawns.

"That is not true! I just think the walk will be a good way to get me focused on doing it!"

"Uh huh. Right." Sucy says climbing out of the car.

The three thank the driver and Diana for the ride offer.

"Goodnight guys!" Akko calls back to the car. "See you tomorrow!"

"Goodnight." The three say before Hannah shuts the door.

As the car pulls away, Diana discreetly watches as the girl disappears from view.

_Sweet dreams, Akko._


	7. Can't Spell Winning One Without Inning One (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IT’S GAME TIME! While the start of the game doesn’t necessarily go according to Akko’s expectation, in typical Akko fashion, she makes the best of the position she’s been given and catches the attention of a few of her teammates. PART 1 of 2.

 

 

When she arrived home after the previous night's get together, Akko snuck to her room and plopped herself on her bed as quiet as possible so she wouldn't wake her parents.

Her mind raced with excitement, nerves rattled in her chest while exhaustion weighed down her eyelids. A terrible combination leaving her too tired to do anything, but too wired to sleep.

Thoughts of fantastical plays ran through her imagination; incredibly caught fly balls and game winning miracle hits. Her friends and teammates cheered her on, Sucy was smiling, Constanze set off mini homemade fireworks, and Diana shook her shoulders in warm celebration as Jasminka raises her into the air with a single arm. Chariot reappeared after years of hiding too, sitting in the bleachers cheering. It was great.

Eventually she fell asleep with the ghost of a smile on her lips, completely neglecting her unfinished homework.

Between then and now, Akko had found that the day had gone by surprisingly fast. She reasons that even though she was super excited for the game, she had also been trying to quickly complete homework before it was due in class. So, she guesses the anticipation and the stress just canceled each other out- not that she's complaining about it… now.

"Twenty jumping jacks! Count 'em! Go!" Croix booms, leading the girls in a pre-game practice.

"One!… Two!...Three!..."

The Luna Nova Witches, in full uniform, jump in unison in the heart of left field.

With her high pants tucked and the number 7 emblazoned on her back, Akko is itching to play with a fresh confidence burning through her. Seeing everyone in matching colors, collectively moving, determined and hopeful for the first game of the season as though they are all a part of a single-purposed machine, makes her heart race with pride that she has gotten this far.

_Today's the day, Akko. Up until now it's all been practice. The pressure's on and there's no way you're gonna suck after all your hard work._

Her eyes shift towards the back of the uniform with a large 1 and the name 'CAVENDISH' brandished from shoulder to shoulder.

_Diana may have gotten shortstop this time, but my job is just as important. If anything gets past her, I gotta stop it._

One of her imagination's fantastical situations from the night before comes to her mind. A line drive shoots just out of the shortstop's reach causing her to miss the ball and fall to the ground. Akko then charges from the outfield, glove stretched as far as it can and catches the ball in mid-air with a stunning display of skill. Once she throws the ball to Jasminka who gets the runner who thought it was safe to run to second out, she walks towards the blonde and extends her hand helping her to her feet. Her uniform might as well be plate armor because the way Diana and looks up at her and takes her hand was like that of a princess thanking a knight for surpassing the trials aimed to trap her in a castle. 'It's no problem' she says in return, 'I'm just doing what I can'. And then Chariot was there and she gave her a signed softball and that's when she woke up to her alarm.

"Aaaaakko… AKKO!"

The brunette snaps out of her daydreaming and looks to the girl droning her name.

"Yo… we finished jumping jacks like, eleven jumping jacks ago. You can stop." Amanda says with a laugh.

Akko, mid jump with arms splayed, then realizes that she is indeed, still doing jumping jacks. She glances around at the rest of the team and coaches looking at her, some amused, some disapprovingly (namely Hannah and Barbara), and one a little concerned. She hadn't even realized Diana had turned around.

She slaps her arms to her side and clears her throat uneasily. "I… um.. I just wanted to get a few more in… ya know… to be... extra ready."

Amanda snorts, rolling her eyes. "Oh okay Akko."

"Well, if you are adequately prepared," Croix says regaining the attention of the team, "next up are lunges."

Midway through their warm-up they see a bus pull up to the field. The Arcturus Academy Cockatrices exit the bus and file to the guest team dugout. Clad in brown and yellow uniforms, they make their way into right field and begin a practice of their own.

As Croix walks over to greet the umpire and the opposing coach, Ursula monitors throwing drills. Akko, like several of the other girls watch the other team from the corner of their eyes

_We can totally take them. Though that pitcher's grunt is kinda scary…_

Akko catches the ball heading towards her, redirecting it back to Sucy and then takes a step further into the outfield.

_I can't wait to finally get the chance to really play. That scrimmage against Varsity just wasn't fair. Coach Meridies was totally right about Molly's family secret knuckleball._

"Alright girls! Huddle up!" Ursula calls over as Croix walks towards them roster in hand.

"You ready ladies?" Croix asks looking around the huddle.

"YES COACH!" The girls yell in harmony.

"Beautiful!" Croix lowers her voice and continues, "Now, don't expect this game to be easy. You have been practicing, but so have they. Never underestimate your opponent, but similarly, don't hold them to unproven high standards either. At this point, very little is beyond your reach so don't let a poor play or a pitcher's creepy grunt get in your way, alright?" As if on cue, the other team's pitcher threw the ball to her catcher with said creepy grunt.

"Now, I know you've already heard Coach Callistis and me say it, but we are so proud of the progress you girls have been making since day one. You have grown as individuals, as teammates, and as a whole, a force to be taken seriously. While there is always room to improve, learn, and experience, you girls have shown that you understand that to do all of these things you must push yourselves. And we see you doing so every day with the drive to better yourselves. What do you say to making today another one of those days?"

A battle cry of affirmation bursts forth from the group of girls as Croix and Ursula put their hands forward.

"Alright, everybody in!"

The girls quickly extend their arms to meet in the center piled one over the other. Akko, Lotte, and Sucy sandwich their hands together and throw them onto the top.

"Witches on three! One… Two… Three!"

"WITCHES!"

"That's what I'm talking about! Alright ladies, we have the field first, Coach Callistis will read off your positions and batting lineup."

The girl's attention shifts to Ursula as she goes down the list one by one.

"Amanda, pitcher. Constanze, catcher. Jasminka, first. Barbara, second. Diana, short. Hannah, third. Sarah, right. Sucy, center. Mary, left-"

_...What…?_

Akko's heart drops, her determined expression clouded by disbelief. That is, until Ursula continues on…

"Akko, Avery, Lotte, and Blair, you will be put in as substitutes in the fifth inning. We want everyone to get a chance in today's game, but for now be sure to bring the energy! And would anyone like to volunteer to take note on the scoresheet?"

_Okay… well… I'm a little bummed I'm not starting. But that won't get Atsuko Kagari down! If everyone is going to play, somebody was going to have to wait their turn, right? Lotte is too! I just have to make sure to help end the game on a victorious note! In the meantime, I'm gonna be the best darn cheerleader there is!_

With her temporary role quickly accepted, Akko runs to Sucy. After nearly losing her hearing to the words 'good luck' and being shaken within an inch of her life by one overly supportive, overly excited Akko, Sucy breaks free from her friend's grasp and jogs with a little more urgency than normal to her position among the rest of the girls in the outfield.

The coaches and remaining players make their way to the dugout to await the game's start.

"I seem to remember you also making certain... sounds when you pitched." Ursula whispers to Croix with a giggle.

"It was for intimidation!"

"I'd say the moaning was more distracting than intimidating." She chuckles her way into the dugout as a blushing Croix follows.

Akko walks into the dugout tying her fingers through the chain-link barrier and begins cheering her teammates on.

The infield and outfield have a game of toss as Amanda takes a few practice pitches before stretching her back and pointing to Constanze.

"Ready Conz?" The redhead yells over the plate.

The small girl nods her head with a grunt and adjusts her stance as the first batter begins a few practice swings.

Amanda turns away from the plate and takes a few steps towards second base. After twirling the ball on her fingers, with a quick breath she leaps into a standing backflip. The acrobat lands and drops into a backwards somersault then rolls into a handstand. Finishing off, with the balance and control of a cat, she twists and cartwheels into her windup stance.

Akko watches with her jaw on the ground, shaking the fencing as Amanda launches the ball over home plate into Constanze's waiting glove.

_Oooooooooh! That was so cool!_

"As extra as ever, O'Neill." Hannah says behind her with brows raised. "I'll give it to you, that was impressive."

"Been practicing that for a few weeks." She smiles cheekily at the third baseman.

"Amanda!" Ursula yells from the sideline with enough urgency to cause the pitcher to drop her smile and turn to her in alarm. "There is no reason to needlessly show off, do you want to get hurt?! Don't be so reckless!"

The team looks over surprised by the outburst from the normally meek woman. While her words were not frantic, the sternness of the message left the girls, in and out of the dugout, cycling through expressions of confusion, concern, and shock.

After a moment, Croix gently places a hand on the assistant coach's shoulder causing the woman to snap her attention to the head coach, a ghost of fear dancing behind her glasses.

"Are you alright?" The lilac haired woman asks quietly, worry coloring her features.

Ursula widens her eyes, a blush of embarrassment washing over her face. She clears her throat and looks back up towards the still frozen pitcher. With a demeanor completely reverted back to the soft-spoken English teacher they've grown used to, she attempts to diffuse the awkward tension

"I- I'm sorry for my harshness. I-I just- Just please be careful. I don't want to see any of you need to get rushed to the nurse."

Despite feeling a little bummed from being scolded (to which she was no stranger to), Amanda begrudgingly understands the reasoning behind her coach's worry.

"A-alright Coach. Sorry… I was just playin' around." The redhead apologizes, a little off put by the outburst.

She turns to face the batter's box and begins kicking the dirt off the pitcher's plate. She watches as the Cockatrices' first batter makes her way to the batter's box completely unaware of what had just transpired. With a cocky smile and a confident laugh, she determinedly refocuses on the task at hand.

The rest of the team, accepting the assistant coach's justification for concern, follow Amanda's example and crouch into position awaiting the start of the game.

Akko watches her favorite teacher subtly ring her hands at the mouth of the dugout as she and Croix watch Amanda windup her first throw.

_I hope Professor Ursula's okay...That was weird._

* * *

The first inning starts off with a strike. And then a second strike. Akko cheers wildly behind the fence as Constanze throws the ball back to the pitching mound. If Amanda had been thrown off by Ursula's words, she isn't even remotely letting it show. She is downright enjoying herself.

She sends her third pitch towards the batter, this time to be met with the ting of aluminum. The batter runs down the baseline as the ball skids across the infield towards Barbara. The dark-haired girl charges the ground ball and catches it as it jumps up in a cloud of dust. She turns to Jasminka and throws it towards the girl stretching towards her. Jasminka catches the incoming ball, making the out with the batter a single stride from the base.

"Yeah Barbs!" Hannah cheers from third base as the rest of the team 'woo's and claps their gloves.

"Go Ba~arb! Go Ja~as! Go Ba~arb! Go Ja~as!" Akko claps in rhythm leading the chant echoing through the dugout.

"Great play ladies! That's one out!" Croix calls out from the sidelines next to a clapping Ursula.

Jasminka returns the ball to a grinning Amanda who begins prepping the plate for the next pitch.

Despite the confidence boost at the start of the inning, the rest of the Witches' time on the field proved Coach Meridies' words of "don't underestimate your opponent" were not meant to be taken lightly.

The second out came where there were runners on first and second. As Amanda was in the midst of her prep routine, the runner on second left the base for third. Amanda twists and throws the ball to a surprised Diana, who in turn sprints, tags the runner out, and throws the ball to a waiting Barbara on second resulting in a stare down forcing the other runner back behind Jasminka.

Diana looks to Amanda with a conflicted expression. The latter responds, "I would have thrown to Hannah, but I wanted the out!" Then proceeds to wink at the irked third baseman before turning back to the batter. Diana rolls her eyes shaking her head and gets back into position.

The last out comes when the batter hit a double into center field just out of Sucy's reach. At the time, there were runners on second and third. While they do score one run, just before the second runner could slide home, Constanze tags her out after catching Sucy's throw from the back of center field.

The coaches watch the throw in awe. "Holy fuck, Sucy." they say simultaneously under their breaths.

Akko on the other hand hollers and shakes the fencing threatening to rend it from its support. "YEAAAAAAH SUCYYY! THATS THREE!"

Lotte and the other girls in the dugout, while still cheering, could not fathom how the brunette girl maintained such energy and volume.

The team jogs to the dugout getting praise from Croix and high fives from Ursula on the way in.

Akko runs over to Sucy and grabs her shoulders, which at this point Sucy is no longer surprised by. "That throw was amazing Sucy! And that was a crazy catch Constanze!" Akko spins around to look at said girl as she removes her catching gear. The girl smiles and gives her a thumbs up.

"And Amanda! Great pitching!"

"Yeah thanks, Akko. I heard you the first ten times." The redheaded girl says rubbing her ears, face scrunched in a wince. "Tone it down a bit will ya? I love ya, but you're gonna deafen somebody."

"If only." Sucy scowls over Akko's shoulder, still firmly within the brunette's grasp.

"Sorry! Heh heh." Akko shrugs finally lowering her voice. "Just keeping up morale!"

Sucy and Amanda look at her and deadpan. "It's the FIRST. INNING."

"And there's no need to go to eleven after every play!" Amanda adds.

"Well yeah, I know that! I just…" she sighs and quiets herself. "I just want to be a part of it. That's all."

Sucy bats the bill of Akko's hat down into her face, resulting in a yelp and freedom from the other girl's arms. "You are the most impatient dummy I have ever met."

"For real, dude! You'll be up in no time. And you get to finish up the game… God help us." Amanda teases as she pulls on her batting gloves.

Akko fixes her hat and huffs. "I know… Aargh! I'm just so excited!" She groans.

"Bernhardt, you're up first! Cavendish, O'Neill, Antonenko get on deck!" Croix calls into the dugout before taking on the position of third-base coach.

"Well, try to save some of that energy for when you're on the field. See ya in a bit!" Amanda says patting Akko on the cheek before heading towards the mouth of the dugout and grabbing a helmet and bat.

As the opposing pitcher warms up, every throw yields a slap and a very aggressive grunt. In order to keep her minimal self-control obedient and not burst out into giggles, Akko focuses her attention to her teammates.

Sucy, finally free from Akko's hands, flees over to Lotte who is talking to Jasminka and Blair on the bench. Hannah, Barbara and Avery stand huddled by the fence drinking from their water bottles, the former two brushing dirt from their pants. Mary helps Constanze with her catcher's gear as she talks about a monster movie she recently saw to which Constanze listens with interest.

Her eyes drift towards Coach Callistis who is standing by Sarah giving her tips on how to read the pitcher and adjusting her shoulders on the follow through of her swing. A small distance away Akko sees Diana and Amanda, helmeted with bats in hand, talking. She can't really hear what is being said, but the relaxed stance of both girls and the lack of threatening by aluminum bat indicates it is at least a civil conversation.

_I keep forgetting they played on travelling together. I wonder why I never saw Diana on the rec teams... If she had been there, I wonder if we'd be closer…_

She watches as Amanda lifts her bat and lays it across her shoulders. She can hear a confident laugh escape the redheads throat as Diana rolls her eyes and shakes her head from side to side.

_I really didn't think that she and Amanda would be...friends? I guess it makes sense they're used to each other because they're both really good but…_

Akko breaks from her thoughts when the two turn from their conversation and walk to the fence to begin a cheer for Sarah who had just made her way to the batter's box.

Ursula gets herself into position as first-base coach and cheerily greets the opponent first baseman.

Sarah stands at the plate, holding her bat out for measure before taking a breath and shuffling her feet into position.

"YEAH SARAH! LETS GO! START IT OFF GIRL!" Akko yells from the fence amongst the rest of the team.

As the pitcher winds up and releases the ball (with a grunt, of course), the raucous noise in the dugout hushes to avoid distraction.

The ball flies over the plate into the catcher's glove.

"Strike!"

Sarah stands, bat still pulled back, and takes a step out of the box to take a practice swing.

"YOU'VE GOT IT SARAH!" "NOW YOU'VE SEEN IT!" Akko yells, Lotte chiming in.

The redheaded girl steps back to the plate, staring the pitcher down as she readies her wind up. She adjusts the weight on her feet as the pitcher sends the ball spinning towards her. She swings, and with a  _ting_  the ball jumps across the infield in between the shortstop and third baseman. Sarah takes off down the first base line as Ursula waves her arm telling her to run through the base. As the ball soars towards the first baseman, Sarah steps on the bag and slows herself on her way to right field.

"Safe!"

"YEAHH! SARAH!"

The dugout bursts into cheers at the announcement while Ursula gives Sarah a high five as she jogs back to the base. She pats her on the shoulder and leans in and whispers to her, what is assumed to be, further instruction.

The cheering shifts from celebration to encouragement as Diana takes a step towards the plate.

"LET'S GO DIANAAAAA!" Akko jumps in surprise as she turns to see Hannah and Barbara loudly screaming at the fence next to her.

"YEAH DIANA! WHOOOOOO!" Akko cheers, but finds she is unable to match the volume at which the other two girls belt their support.

Diana turns to the dugout and a small giggle escapes her throat as she looks towards the fencing at her two friends clutching each other in anticipation. Her eyes then drift to the brunette cheering her on beside them and she notices a nervous warmth flutter in her chest.

* * *

Once Akko, Sucy, and Lotte said their goodbyes after being dropped off from their quiet commute, the car ride back to Barbara and Hannah's houses was far more comfortable. While Diana felt a slight loss from the absence of the brunette, she definitely noticed that with her departure it became easier to breathe. With the less familiar company gone, Hannah and Barbara fell into quiet conversation.

Despite the inconvenient proximity to one particular member, Diana really was glad that the teasing and animosity between her friends and the rest of the girls on the team seemed to have dissipated after all the time they had spent together. However, it appeared her friends still had some choice words about a certain Japanese girl.

"Do you think she's always been so childish?" Barbara mused.

"I bet. She's like a puppy… she's sweet, but she kinda just bumps around oblivious to everything. She could benefit from some maturity." Hannah responded. "And a tutor. It's a matter of time before she fails out."

The two girls giggled to themselves as Diana listened, refraining from adding anything to the conversation that could be seen as incriminating. She couldn't really say that her friends were wrong… Akko did tend to have an aura of immaturity following her actions and she was entirely aware of the girl's lack of focus when it comes to classwork- at least in the classes she, Hannah or Barbara shared with her- but still, in her heart she wanted to defend the girl who she knew had far more to offer than these superficial attributes alone.

"I believe she has shown growth since the start of the year, it is her first year here after all. Her previous school may not have had such advanced social and academic expectations as Luna Nova has." The blonde said coolly as she maintained her vision towards the minimal oncoming traffic.

"I suppose…" Hannah hummed in response as she tried to get a look at the blonde's expression.

Unlike Diana in this particular aspect, Hannah and Barbara knew exactly what they were doing. Diana may be well on her way in discovering or accepting her orientation and preference, but the two of them knew she would fight it every step of the way.

Unfortunately, they honestly couldn't blame her. The Cavendishes are a very well-known family in the area. Their multiple hospitals and hand in the starting-up most of the local healthcare organizations have afforded them near celebrity status. However, after the passing of Diana's mother, the anointed face of the family business, said business had begun to attract more and more negative press.

Aside from her Aunt Daryl desperately trying to maintain the respect that follows the Cavendish name (further pressuring Diana to keep up a near perfect appearance) soon after her mother's death she had made a point of not allowing herself to get too close to others emotionally. Diana had actually attempted to separate herself from Hannah and Barbara, to which they outright told her that they were 'having none of that'. Fortunately, their friend relented and here they were today. It's taken a while, but they are happy to see that, whether conscious or not, she has begun letting people back in.

Her title as the heiress of the Cavendish family business as well as her reputation as the ace of Luna Nova had placed her in the public's eye, but softball had always been one of the only places Diana had ever been able to shed her refined mask, if only a little, and allow herself to act her age and let off steam. The last thing she would want in one of the only aspects of her young life that allows her to let go is the threat of judgement and the potential for scandal. Barbara and Hannah knew this first hand, which is why they have yet to come out to anyone but one another.

Besides...no one wanted to take on the role of the stereotypical softball lesbian.

Though they wanted to tell Diana, they were a little afraid Daryl would make her cut ties with them due to 'potentially unfavorable connections'. And while they genuinely don't think she would look at them differently, interested in girls or not, the thought of 'but what if she does?' keeps their confessions at bay, at least until they're ready for the consequences. But as her friends, they want to see her happy, and for that, they knew she was going to need a little bit of a push. So, for that they were going to need to bring up the target of their friend's affection in hopes that she'll get hit with the realization enough to confront her feelings.

Or at least tell them,  _her_   _best friends_ , that she has a crush! She's always been so serious and they've been waiting so long for the day the three of them can gossip like the teenage girls they were.

Sure, they're a little nosy, but what are friends for?

"I am a little surprised she's never actually had a relationship with a boy. She seems easy enough to please." Barbara followed Hannah's lead and discreetly looked to their blonde friend for a reaction. To her excitement, from the light of a passing car, she saw the blonde ever so slightly clench her jaw.

This night, despite leaving her elated on multiple occasions, had made her realize the presence of the growing monologue she's been having with herself.

_I don't even know what I want. Do I wish she'd reciprocate my feelings? If she doesn't then it makes everything so much easier. I've dealt with worse loss… But then why does the thought of her with a boy make me feel… Is this jealousy?_

She un-clenched her jaw and took a quiet breath.

_I suppose it is… Atsuko Kagari, the mere thought of you on a date with a boy has made me jealous. How unfair._

Once she arrived home after wishing her friends a goodnight, she lay on her bed contemplating her feelings and decides on the conclusion of taking no immediate plan of action. She could not express her interest in her teammate beyond friendship, so that is how their relationship would be. She closed her eyes for a moment, her thoughts dragging her back into Akko's embrace less than an hour prior. The girl's warm strong arms around her, while asphyxiating, were something she found she wished hadn't let go so quickly. Her eyes shot open with an aggravated groan and she forced herself up to set her clothing for the next day and to change into her nightwear. As she fell to sleep, she batted away thoughts of wine red eyes.

* * *

(…to be continued)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My plan was not initially to break this up into two parts, however it just got too long. So, the remainder of the game will be in the next chapter starting off with Diana's at bat.
> 
> I've never really written something so sports oriented, so I'm not really sure how much of the sport you want to read exactly. So, this and the next chapter will be a little more sports lingo filled because it's the first game and I think it's kinda important. If ya'll have any questions on lingo or softball stuff mentioned in the story don't be afraid to ask!
> 
> Fun Fact: The title of the chapter was my Varsity team's slogan the year I played. Not really cool on a t-shirt.
> 
> I hope you like what's coming up next!


	8. Can't Spell Winning One Without Inning One (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IT'S GAME TIME! STILL! PART 2

 

 

Diana takes a breath and gathers her thoughts from her memories of the night before as she grips the bat tightly in her hands.

_No distractions._

She turns to the batter's box and shuffles her feet, rolling her bat in her hands. She watches as the pitcher goes through a cycle of expressions she assumes due to signs from the catcher behind her before winding up with a little less mirth than before.

_Is she tired already?_

Diana keeps her eyes on the ball as it leaves the pitcher's hand and flies high over her head.

"Ball!" The umpire calls behind her. The pensive look on Ursula's face at first as well as Sarah's minuscule lead makes her believe the catcher was expecting the throw to go high and re-positioned as such.

_Oh…_

As expected, and much to her disappointment, the next three pitches are followed by the umpire calling "ball", sending her and Sarah forward on a walk. As she drops her bat to jog to first base, she turns to look at the catcher. As Diana had predicted, the girl is familiar- an opponent she had played against on her last travelling team.

_I suppose I left a memorable impression._ She muses with a touch of pride.

Ursula greets her with a high five as she reaches first base. "Do you know each other?" She asks curiously.

"Apparently." Diana responds before setting herself in a slight lunge towards second.

Amanda steps up to the plate tapping the bottom of her cleats with her bat.

"LET'S GO AMANDA!" The girls in the dugout scream before falling into a team chant.

"YOU'VE GOT IT MANDY! SHOW THAT BALL WHO'S BOSS!" Akko yells rattling the fence.

"Never call me Mandy again, KOKO!" Amanda yells back to the dugout without skipping a beat.

Akko hushes sheepishly for a moment before taking a deep breath. "GOOOOOOOOOO AMANDA!"

The girl up at bat rolls her eyes with a small smile while the blonde on first conceals a snort.

Amanda stretches before stepping into the batter's box and bringing the bat back into waiting. The pitcher cracks her neck and falls into step, whipping the ball through the windmill motion and towards the plate.

_Guess she didn't want to give Cav the hit. No problem there._

Amanda swings the bat and makes contact. The ball flies high into left field and the redhead curses to herself as she runs to first watching the left fielder lift her glove easily catching it. Mary twists midway between second and third in a cloud of dust and dives back to second just before the ball makes it way back into the infield.

"Shit." Amanda mumbles under her breath as she picks up her bat and walks back into the dugout. She looks up and grabs Jasminka's hand. "Avenge me Jazzy." The pink haired girl nods solemnly and responds with a cheery, "I'll try!"

Amanda makes her way back to the fence alongside Akko and cheers Jasminka on.

Reliable as ever, Jasminka prepares herself at the plate and after getting one foul, she slams the ball over the right fielder's head resulting in a triple with two runs brought in. The dugout went wild. Coach Meridies who has been acting as third-base coach was practically jumping and giving the girl high fives and fist bumps at the same time.

By the end of the inning, Jasminka had made her way over the plate and Barbara had gotten to third just before the third out resulting in the scoreboard reading 3 to 1.

* * *

The next three innings yielded a sort of tug of war of points. Each inning at bat resulted in at least one run, and most of the time it pushed the team at bat into the lead. In the second inning, despite an incredible catch by Mary in left field and a tag out by Hannah on third, the Cockatrices pushed ahead by two runs. The Witches made the runs up in the next at bat when Hannah, and Constanze made it through home.

Amanda and Barbara nearly ran into each other catching an infield pop fly earning a reminder from Coach Callistis about calling for the ball, Diana made a diving catch, coming close to making a double play, and Sucy caught a pop fly in center field but overthrew to second, allowing the runner to steal it. As for at bats, much to the blonde's frustration, the pitcher was consistent about not letting Diana hit the ball. Amanda exacted her revenge by hitting the ball into left field just short of the left fielder's reach, prompting Avery to run as her pinch. Jasminka and Barbara hit doubles, while the rest occupied bases with singles.

At last, with the Cockatrices in the lead, the score reading 8 to 9, the top of the fifth inning begins.

"Kagari, go to left. Yanson, right. Strega, I want you in center." Coach Meridies tells the girls as she looks over her roster.

"Yes Coach!"

She tosses a ball to Akko before the girls leave to warm up in the outfield.

The brunette steps onto the outfield with her uniform flapping against her body from the light breeze. The grass beneath her cleats seeming so much softer than it had a few innings ago during the pre-game practice. Coupled with the smell of the field, the feel of the ball, and the sound of the opposing team cheering their up at bat all hitting her at once, she finds herself instantly filled with excitement and anxiety.

_Okay! It's time Akko. First game. You've got Chariot's number. Let's show 'em what you've got!_

It feels like no time before the inning begins and Akko stands quietly in left field just  _waiting_  to see the ball coming her way. Unfortunately, no such event happens. Two batters get on base on infield hits taking up first and second, now finally giving the brunette a role to cover backup for third. Akko's eyes wander around the field at her teammates between plays. She notices that Hannah and Diana's grey pants have a layer of orange dirt coating various parts of their legs, a particularly large orange spot just beneath Diana's rear draws her eye.

_That was a really good slide._

_Ting!_

Akko snaps back to attention. At last the ball was heading her direction. Before she can even think about charging in, the slap of ball hitting glove hits her ears. Diana runs to the side catching the line drive, spins and tags the runner trying to get back to second and then shoots the ball towards Jasminka who catches and tags the base before the runner can dive back from her lead.

The team stands on the field motionless for a moment, not yet comprehending that they were now up at bat.

_Holy shit. Did she just get three outs?_

At last, time catches up to them as they watch Diana begin to jog off the field. They run to the dugout commending the blonde, who despite her control, has allowed a proud grin to sneak onto her face.

"Wonderful catch Jasminka, that was really clo- EEEP!" Diana had been speaking to the first baseman before feeling and hearing a powerful slap on the seat of her pants.

"Hot damn Cavendish! That was sick! Nice play!" Amanda smiles genuinely and holds up her hand waiting for a high five.

The blonde suffocates the rage-driven red taking over her face from the uncouth behavior of the girl who just slapped her ass. She was ready to say something, but instead unclenches her teeth, sighs, and weakly holds up her hand accepting the high five.

_She's harmless, but if I tell her not to do it, she'll only do it more._

Akko stands among the bustle of the entrance of the dugout still a little struck by Diana's play.

_Holy crap that was amazing! How did she DO that?_

"England, you're up! Constanze, Yanson, Kagari on deck!" Coach Meridies calls out pulling Akko out of her stupor.

_Wait what?! I'm batting this inning?! I didn't realize where we were on the line up! Ookay… ookay don't panic. Just remember what Professor Ursula and Amanda taught you. No problemo!_

Akko fast walks towards her bat bag to replace her mit with batting gloves. Lotte sidles up next to her to do the same.

"You ready Lotte?" Akko asks excitedly as she pulls a red aluminum bat out of her bag.

"I hope so!" Lotte says with a nervous laugh. "Sucy says that it feels like pitcher throws only a little faster than the machines, so that's comforting. Are you ready?"

"Definitely! I just have to try not to psych myself out." She says tapping her bat to her foot.

"You can do it! Just pretend it's practice if you get nervous."

"Or don't. There needs to be somebody who makes the rest of us look good."

"Amandaaa!"

"Hey, don't hate the player… I don't make the rules." Amanda laughs, lifting her hands in surrender when Akko makes to raise her bat. "You guys'll do fine. Don't think too hard Akko. It's just like hitting a high five." She says as she holds up her hand, a toothy grin across her face.

Akko lowers her bat and raises her hand to meet Amanda's- to which Amanda slaps her hand and on the follow through arcs downward to smack the brunette's backside. Akko jumps with a squeak as Amanda pushes her and Lotte towards the entrance of the dugout with a hearty laugh.

"Aright! Gear up and go get em!"

Akko and Lotte scurry out of the dugout with hands guarding their rears keeping an eye on Amanda in case she returns for a drive-by.

"I hate it when she does that! And I never see it coming!" Akko says rubbing her backside.

"And you know she'll just do it more if you tell her to stop." Lotte responds with a sigh as she leans over to pick up a helmet.

"I KNOW!"

The two watch as Hannah walks out onto the dirt, appraising the field as she lifts her bat over her shoulder on the way to the batter's box.

"LETS GO HAN!" Barbara and Diana shout loudly from the fence, starting off an echo of cheers throughout the dugout.

"WHOOP! WHOOP! FIRECR _ath-"_

"YEAAAAH HANNAH!" Jasminka cries out interrupting Amanda by shoving a large stick of gum in her mouth.

Hannah steps forward into the batter's box and readies herself.

Before Akko knows it, she is up next with two outs before her. Hannah had gotten on base with a single, however on her attempt to steal second during Constanze's at bat, she was tagged out in a rather dramatic rundown. Even if she didn't make it, Akko couldn't say she didn't fight for it. Constanze made it to second with a double, and it almost looked like Lotte would too until the right fielder stole her hit from the air.

_Just hit the ball. You can do it. You've been doing it for months. More even! You can do it. You can do it._

"You've got this Akko!" Lotte says patting her shoulder on her way back into the dugout, waking her from her admittedly less than helpful pep talk.

"BRING CONZ HOME, AKKO!" Amanda belts.

"LETS GO! LETS GO! A-KKO! A-KKO!"

Akko takes a breath and steps towards the plate. She can't help but break into a smile at the sound of her team cheering her on.

"YOU CAN DO IT AKKO!" Sucy calls out cupping her hands around her mouth.

"LETS GO SEVEN!" Diana yells with a clap as Hannah and Barbara whistle.

_Alright. You can do this. Just be confident and remember what you learned. You've only gotten better._

She moves her feet around the plate and leans back and forth finding her position.

_Watch the ball._

The pitcher tosses the ball into her glove a couple times before straightening her back and falling into step.

_Watch the ball._

With a grunt the ball flies towards her in a yellow blur.

_Catch the ball with the bat._

She swings her arms around to hear the sound of the ball hitting the catcher's glove.

"Strike!"

"IT'S OKAY AKKO! GOOD SWING!" Ursula claps from first base.

Akko readjusts her position on home plate. She looks up at Constanze who is giving her a thumbs up from second base.

"YOU'VE GOT THIS AKKO!" Lotte yells shaking the protective fencing.

"LETS GO AKKO!"

The pitcher winds up again shooting the ball towards the plate.

_Watch it watch it watch it._

The ball comes in higher than the previous pitch, but all the same Akko swings with a growl.

_Ting!_

_Oh my god I hit it?!_

Akko drops her bat and launches herself towards first. Her legs pump forward as she sees the pitcher walk forward holding her glove into the air.

_No. Please? Don't catch it. Don't catch it._

"Out!"

Akko lets the momentum carry her through first base letting out an exasperated sigh as the fielding team begins to walk in to bat.

"Ah man!" She whines walking alongside Ursula back to the dugout.

"You did fine." Ursula smiles at her. "You get some, you lose some."

"I know…" Akko says as she lightly kicks the dirt.

"Don't let it get to you. There's always next time."

"Good hustle Kagari." Coach Meridies says as Akko makes her way into the dugout to retrieve her glove. "Okay ladies! Take the field, try to hold them!"

* * *

They were unable to hold them.

The sixth inning yielded two runs for the opposing team. While the Witches managed to catch up (both Blair and Diana scoring runs of their own), going into the seventh inning they were still down by one run with the Cockatrices up at bat.

While Akko did not see too much action come into her corner of the field, in the seventh inning she regained some of her lost confidence when a fly ball came her way. It was over the foul line but she ran and dove to catch it. She got the out and she had grass stains on her knees to commemorate it. Despite Ursula's horror-struck expression due to the young girl nearly plowing into the school bleachers, she clapped and cheered for the brunette as she giddily bounced her way back onto the field.

Even with Akko's catch and an impressive double play by Barbara and Jasminka, the Cockatrices ended their at bat adding a second run to their lead.

"Alright ladies! Last chance! We've gotta catch up! Here we go!" Coach Meridies calls into the dugout. _"_ Constanze, lead us off! Yanson, Kagari, Strega. You're on deck!"

"You ready Akko?" Lotte asks as she pulls her batting gloves over her fingers.

"Last inning. No big deal. No reason to be nervous." Sucy says looming behind her doing absolutely nothing to calm her nerves.

"Stop it Sucy!" Akko turns and lightly smacks the pink-haired girl's shoulder. "I am so ready!" She says with so much confidence even she starts to believe it. "No sweat!"

She sweat.

Constanze ended up making her way to first only to be tagged out at second after Lotte hit a ground ball to third. The redhead was safe, albeit a little shaken from the attempted double play that she narrowly beat.

Akko takes deep breaths while ringing the handle of her bat in her hands.

_Watch the ball. Don't stand too close to the plate. You've got Chariot's number. You're gonna do great. Don't overthink it..._

"Do you traditionally rhyme in your pep talks?"

"Eh?!" Akko's head spins around causing her helmet to swivel into her face. She sees Diana coming out of the dugout to select a helmet for her approaching up at bat.

_I guess that was out loud. Great job not being anxious, Akko._

The brunette laughs nervously as she fixes her helmet. "Nope… not usually. You weren't actually supposed to hear that." Akko stands there suddenly very aware of how awkward she feels. "Uh um… that was a really nice play you made before." She says trying to change the topic matter.

Diana looks up at her with a half-smile after picking up a helmet. "Hm? Oh! Thank you. It was lucky it worked out the way it did. Your catch was quite impressive as well."

"Th-thanks."

For the next few moments Akko just stands there unsure of how to respond further. While she supposes luck has a bit of a role, she seriously doubts it had any place in the blonde's reaction time and sure throw. She was truly a worthy rival.

"You should get out there… You're up." Diana says hesitantly as she looks away trying to hide her face, increasingly aware of the heat climbing her cheeks due to the prolonged staring.

Akko breaks her eye contact and snaps back to her senses. "O-oh yeah!" She sputters turning around to face the field and the slightly irritated umpire waiting for her to get in the box.

"Good luck!" Diana calls behind her as she steps out onto the dirt.

A shy smile spreads across Akko's face as she lets out a breath and steps towards the batter's box.

_Darn it! She'd be a much better rival if she didn't make me like her so much!_

Diana leans up against the fence and joins in with the rest of the team's supportive cheering.

_Come on Akko. You can do it…_

"AYY AKKO YO SO FINE YO SO FINE YOU BLOW MY MIND! HEY AKKO! HEY HEY HEEEY! HEY AKKO!" Amanda and Jasminka sing aloud while clapping.

"YOU'VE GOT THIS!" Lotte calls from first base.

"YEAH AKKO!" Sucy cheers.

Akko smiles, a hurricane of nervous butterflies take off at her toes and whirl around her body yet to show any indication of taking rest.

_Don't overthink it. Don't overthink it. You've got it this time._

The pitcher winds up and makes the throw with a grunt. Akko watches as it shoots towards her.

_It's low, but…_

She makes the swing.

"Strike!" The umpire calls out behind her as the catcher gets into position to return the ball to the pitcher.

"IT'S OKAY AKKO! SHAKE IT OFF!" Hannah and Barbara call out in unison.

"LETS GO AKKO! YOU CAN DO IT!"

"DON'T RUSH! WAIT FOR THE RIGHT PITCH!" Coach Ursula yells from her position at first base.

Akko shakes her head and steps out of the batter's box to take a practice swing.

_It's okay. Just be patient._

She takes a breath and steps back up to the plate. The pitcher turns the ball in her hands before falling into step.

_Too high._

Akko watches as the ball soars past her eyes, causing her to flinch.

"One ball, one strike!" The umpire yells holding up one finger per hand.

"GOOD EYE AKKO!" Diana yells "YOU'VE GOT IT!"

A breath of relief escapes her lips as she gets back into position with a glint in her eye.

_Here we go, we can do this._

The pitcher wipes the ball against the side of her leg before kicking dirt off the plate and readying her arm.

This time the ball flies towards her a little higher.

_Okay. This is the one._

Akko swings her bat and her ears are met with a  _ting_  of success. She takes off down the first base line but doesn't see Lotte move.

"Foul ball!" The umpire yells before the thud of the ball hitting the top of the opponent team's dugout elicits a few surprised screams.

Akko turns around biting her lip frustrated and heads back to her bat.

_Two strikes. Come ON! I can do this._

"SO CLOSE!"

"Lets go Kagari! Show them what you've got!" Coach Meridies calls from third-base.

Akko gets back to the plate and brushes the dirt off its pale, yellowed surface before stepping back and squaring up.

_Just keep your eye on it. Relax._

The pitcher holds the ball to her chest before holding it out and sending it into motion. Her arm windmills causing the ball to appear a blur before being flung towards Akko.

She watches it as its yellow form gets closer and closer, its laces spinning, hypnotically, as it approaches. Heading straight for her.

_Crap._

"EEEEE!" Akko squeals, the ball bashing into her side as she flinches, instinctively turning away. A chorus of  _oooh_ 's sound around the field from friend and foe alike.

"Are you okay Akko?" Ursula starts heading towards the scrunched brunette.

"You okay missy?" The umpire leans toward her.

_Owwwwww! Man, that's gonna bruise…_

"Yeah, I'm okay." She straightens herself up rubbing the now far more tender portion of her side.

"Okay." The umpire stands and calls out. "The batter was hit by the pitch! She is awarded a walk!"

Akko runs down the first base line to the sound of courtesy clapping as Lotte jogs to second.

_Ahh… not how I wanted to get here, but I'll take it._

"Are you alright Akko? Do you want someone to run for you?" Ursula asks once Akko touches the base.

"What? No way! I'm fine! Not my first time getting hit!" She says proudly. "On purpose or by accident!"

"O-oh okay then." Ursula smiles with a sigh, not surprised in the slightest.

The brunette readies herself as Blair walks towards the plate. Bouncing her foot on the base as she stretches her other leg forward, she waits ready to run.

After a strike and ball were called, Blair hits the ball into the air, unfortunately to be caught by the second baseman. Akko was wary of her lead, but needed to have some distance just in case the ball is dropped. It isn't, which results in Akko diving back to the base head first.

With two outs and runners on first and second, Diana walks up to the plate.

"Let's go Diana!" Akko calls from first base chiming in on the chain of cheers for the blonde.

Diana settles into the batter's box and readies her stance. Expecting a repeat of the last few innings, she finds herself caught off guard when the first pitch comes right down the middle.

"Strike!" The umpire yells.

Diana watches as the pitcher raises her glove to catch the incoming ball, rolling her shoulder with a new defiant confidence.

_Finally._

Diana shuffles her feet back into position, her eyes focused on the pitcher's hand.

_She's hoping to end the inning. More than likely an infield hit would result in an out on first, second, or third and a short hit to the outfield could end in a catch or a rundown… And with two outs..._

She watches as the pitcher whips the ball through its windmill motion and towards the plate.

_I guess I must hope for the best._

With all the might she can muster, Diana swings, cutting the bat up at the ball and making contact. The ball sails through the air towards center field. Over center field. Landing in the back of center field with the fielder chasing after it.

The Witches dugout goes wild with screaming and whistling as all the base runners take off. Croix waves Lotte through third and directs her towards home plate just as she does for Akko who is following closely behind.

Diana sprints, rounding first base. Halfway between first and second, she notes the center fielder has almost reached the ball. She lowers her head, rounding second and aims for third.

Akko races home, touching the plate before veering out of the way of the catcher. "YEAH DIANA!" She jumps as Lotte pulls her out of the way of the still in progress play.

She sees the third baseman raise her glove to catch the ball, and just as Diana prepares herself to slide into the base, she sees the ball fly past the third baseman and into the fence midway between home and third.

_I can make it._

Diana pumps her stinging legs, just barely touching the corner of third base before charging home to make the winning run. The third baseman races to the missed ball and without touching her glove she picks it up and flings it to the waiting catcher.

_Come on. COME ON!_

Diana falls into a slide mere feet from the plate. She hears the ball hit the catcher's glove and then the resonating  _thunk_  of the catcher sweeping at her, hitting her helmet.

"Safe!" The umpire yells.

A relieved laugh escapes Diana's throat as the Witches cheer wildly from the dugout.

Hannah and Barbara jump, shaking the fencing as they scream unintelligible praise.

As the catcher moves aside she looks at her position, deducing that by the time the catcher had tagged her helmet, her foot had just barely crossed the plate.

_That was too close. Not very wise of me._

She lets out a breath as she begins to lift her head off the ground. She is welcomed by the view of a beaming brunette.

"That was incredible!" A still helmeted Akko squeals, eyes shining as she holds out a hand to help the blonde up.

Diana looks up, at first surprised by the hand, but then breaks into a smile grabbing it firmly and pulling herself to her feet. She was startled when the brunette girl enveloped her in a tight hug, the other girl's helmet clanking against her own. She didn't even have time to process the girl's arms around her by the time the rest of the team loudly swarmed in, nearly suffocating her in a massive group hug.

With the game's final score reading 13 to 12, the Witches jump and cheer in celebration of their first victory.

The girls break from their embrace, giddiness and adrenaline still at an excruciating high, and lineup to say farewell to the other team thanking them for the game.

After shaking hands with the other coaches, Croix and Ursula huddle the girls up into center field.

"Ow! Don't push on it!" Akko yelps.

Ignoring her, Sucy laughs and continues to poke the location of her friend's developing bruise "It looked like it hit pretty hard."

"It did! Stoppp!" She tries twisting away to no avail.

"Okay ladies, quiet please." Croix says rolling a ball between her hands as she and Ursula approach the group. The chattering and the mostly awkward yet appreciated praise hush as the girls turn their attention to the older women.

The head coach clears her throat before speaking. "Great job today. How does your first win feel?!"

She is met with a chorus of cheers, unable to keep a small proud smile from spreading across her lips she looks over towards her entertained assistant coach.

Once they quiet, she replaces her smile with a serious expression. "You played very well, but there were a few things Coach Callistis and I noted we could work on. So next practice we will be working on some of those drills as well as anything you girls would like to improve on."

"You girls have shown so much growth since your tryouts." Ursula begins. "We are very happy with what we saw you put out on the field today, but be sure to remember that this is only the first of many games. If you continue working hard, improving your skills, and coming together to teach and encourage each other as teammates, it will show in future games."

After another minute or so of victory speech ultimately summing up with 'don't get cocky', Croix holds up her arm, ball in hand.

"Finally, before we head back to the locker room. I would like to award the game ball to…. Miss Atsuko Kagari…"

Akko's eyes widen in surprise as she feels the spotlight bring heat to her cheeks.

"...for bringing and inspiring the most energy to the dugout I have seen in my many years in this sport. From the first inning, you led the rally supporting your team and kept that spirit throughout the rest of the game. Besides…" Croix winks with a small smile as she lightly tosses the ball to the brunette, "it's already been intimately acquainted with your side, it seems fitting that you keep it. Keep up the good work."

Akko catches the ball and a blinding smile stretches across her dirty face as she is surrounded by the sound of clapping and calls.

_Woah._ Was Diana's overwhelming thought upon seeing the brunette's radiant smile. She feels the corners of her mouth slacken as she hears the pounding of her heart alongside the cheering.

_She truly is beautiful..._

"Hands in!" Croix screams throwing her arm forward as the rest of the team follows, slapping their hands into the pile enthusiastically.

"Alright! Witches on three!"

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"WITCHES!"

 

 


	9. Field of Dreams/ Bottom of the First

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite trying to process a couple of the strange thoughts running through her head regarding her rival, Akko finds herself quite focused during practice.

 

 

Akko kicks at the rubber base beneath her feet before wiping the sweat from her brow and turning her eyes towards third.

She sees Diana on the base ahead of her, blonde hair cascading down her shoulders from beneath her helmet. From her lunge on third she turns her attention towards the brunette.

"Great hit Akko!" The blonde yells through a big smile. The hair blowing around her face picks up the sun's rays, glowing like a halo in the golden spring afternoon.

Akko feels a blush come over her face, but not from her recent sprint. Her cheeks lift from the wind coming off the wings of the butterflies in her body as they scramble away from the comfortable heat rising in her chest. A pleasant wave of lightheadedness comes over her, if not only for a moment before calling back to the ethereal girl 60 feet away from her.

"That was nothing compared to yours!"

The girl giggles, despite their distance, the melodious sound rings sweetly in Akko's ears. "I beg to differ."

_Ting!_

The two watch as the ball flies overhead and drops into the field behind them.

Akko's legs begin to move of their own accord, powering towards third base.

"Go Akko!" Diana calls as she passes over home plate.

Akko goes, she lowers her head running faster and faster as she rounds third base. When she looks up to the plate ahead she sees Diana waving her on. Her windswept hair, her reddened face damp from sweat and exertion, and her shining blue eyes drawing Akko closer with an alluring gaze become the only things in the brunette's line of vision. She runs towards Diana, towards the plate, her feet gliding across the dirt.

Suddenly she senses the incoming ball. She turns to see it quickly catching up to her and forces her legs to push harder to beat it to the plate.

When she turns back forward she sees that Diana had removed her helmet. Her hair, wavy and damp from sweat, splays around her flushed face as the ball heads straight for her.

Akko calls out, screaming for her to move, watch out, any combination of words that would warn her of the ball hurtling towards her. However, it seems that the sound of all her attempts dissipate formless into the air the moment they leave her lips. Diana couldn't hear her warnings, nor did it seem that she noticed the ball heading towards her as she cheered.

From the corner of her vision she sees the ball flying next to her, taunting her.

"No!" Akko screams as she runs even harder, pulling ahead of the ball.

"Diana!" Akko leaps in front of the yellow mass, sacrificing herself to save the blonde in front of her. She feels the ball slam against her shoulder blades as she falls forward towards shocked cerulean eyes.

For a moment she felt nothing, saw nothing. The impact of the ball had left her winded and it took her a moment to realize that the darkness was due to her helmet being pushed over her eyes.

She begins to push herself up before realizing the surface beneath her did not feel like dirt. She does a push up, slightly lifting her upper body before the helmet seems to right itself. When she regains her sight, she is staring into bright blue eyes.

Suddenly she is aware of every little detail of the girl pinned beneath her. The barely noticeable smattering of freckles racing over the bridge of her nose, the flecks of navy, robin's egg, and cobalt blues swimming in her irises, the tea green strands twisted with blonde tresses looking almost natural against her complexion, all paling in comparison to the sound of the light breaths escaping pink lips directly below Akko's own.

She then becomes acutely aware that from chest to hips, her body is overlapping the blonde's. It then suddenly makes sense that the reason the girl's breath is so light is because she probably can't breathe with the brunette's diaphragm crushing against her own.

Akko, fatigued yet uninjured, raises herself to her knees, straddling the girl beneath her, and watches as the blonde's chest raises, taking in a deep breath now that her lungs are no longer constricted.

"S-sorry… are you okay?" Akko asks from her kneeling position.

Before she knew it, Diana had sat up and once again settled her face inches from the brunette's. Akko feels one of the blonde's soft hands rest on the side of her neck as the other pushes her helmet off the back of her head before cupping her cheek.

"We have to stop meeting like this-" the blonde whispers as she begins to close the distance between their panting mouths.

Akko begins to lean forward, fluttering her eyes closed to-

**"THE SHOW MUST GO O~ON!"**

Akko's eyes shoot wide open as she throws the blankets off of her bed in her startled thrashing.

She sits there wide eyed and red faced as the chorus of the Queen song fills the room. She holds her hand over her chest and feels her heart pounding at her ribs as she lifts her other hand to feel her face. Her fingers brush along the same warm cheek the blondes hand had (sort of) just occupied.

She blinks a few times and tries to even her breathing before falling back to her pillow and staring at her ceiling... Confused? Flustered? Uncomfortable? A combination of the three?

_What the hell was that?_

* * *

By the time Akko arrives at school she had managed to fully calm herself, however she was still racking her brain as to why she would have possibly had such a weird, well… she wouldn't really call it a nightmare.

She takes her seat in Badcock's first period math class with barely a word.

_Seriously, that was so strange. I've never… I mean… I don't remember having a dream like that before. I guess… the groping thing only happened a couple days ago… maybe that's where it came from? Yeah…_

_But that still doesn't explain why dream me made her want to… kiss me. And did dream me want to kiss her back? I wish I knew more about psychology!_

_Hmm… come on Akko… you listened to Lotte talk about that dream analysissy thing from Nightfall… we can figure this out._

_Okay, so I mean… Diana is super pretty… but like, most girls are. So that can't be it. I mean she is a great softball player and we met because of it… so that explains the field.,._

_Maybe it's because she is such a good softball player! Especially after she made that crazy play and winning run. I've always dreamed about making that kind of slide home._

_Maybe... it's because I want to be her? I mean I already knew I was a tiny bit jealous, but this is a weird way for my brain to show it._

_Hm… and I was on top of her… because… I saved her? Um… because I want to be better than her? Yeah, that makes sense. Okay, and I jumped in front of the ball because… well of course I wouldn't want anybody to get hurt._

_But why was she so… touchy feely? I guess the more you touch the more friendly you are? Like how Hannah and Barbara are. Was that a weird way of showing that I want to become better friends with her? But that was definitely leading to a kiss…_

_I think? Do I even remember it? It was just a stupid dream, right? Yeah. No way Diana would ever act like that. She's all refined and polite and stuff…_

_Pssh… it was probably just because all the softball and the excitement of the first game. And Diana practically won the game. MAYBE THAT'S IT! PEOPLE KISS PEOPLE TO THANK THEM! But then why would she be the one to start it…? Nope, silly head. Stop trying to make it more complicated. This makes the most sense._

"Miss Kagari."

_Besides, I like boys. And Diana's not a boy._

"Miss Kagari!"

_Not that there's anything wrong with liking girls. At the party they were saying stuff about Professor Ursula and Coach Croi-_

"MISS KAGARI!"

"Huh?" Her thoughts halt and her eyes fly up to focus on the fuming math teacher in front of her.

"PLEASE pay attention and open your book to page 119 to begin your practice problems!" The small woman snaps as she angrily pushes her glasses up her nose.

"H-hai!" She turns to grab her book with a touch of fear and chances a glance at the clock.

_How did class start 15 minutes ago?!_

* * *

 

Up until her lunch period, the thoughts about her dream seemed to have been sated by her thought out reasoning and no longer interrupted her schoolwork to such a degree as they had in her math class. But then again if she were honest, more often than not Akko rarely thought about math in that class anyway.

When she arrives at her lunch table, she sits down between Lotte and Jasminka as they continue their game of 'Would You Rather' with Amanda, Sucy, and Constanze.

"Come on Amanda, answer. Would you rather kiss Nelson or hug Finnelan?" Sucy cackles at the spiky haired girl.

"Geez… Why'd you have to do this to me Conz? I'd totally HUG Nelson?"

"Not the question." Sucy says with a smile as she and Constanze bump fists.

"Gahh! Fine… but just because I'm five hundred percent sure if I hug Finnelan she'd choke me out right then and there. I'd kiss Nelson."

Satisfied with the answer, the table hums with a chorus of "that's true" 's and "yeah, you'd die" 's.

"Aright Sucy… would you rather fight one hundred duck sized horses or one horse sized duck?"

Sucy taps her chin thinking hard.

"Hey Akko, you okay?" Lotte leans over to the brunette who had been looking blankly into her helping of mashed potatoes. "You looked kind of lost in math… um… a little more than usual."

Akko looks up at her, slightly distracted again. She had been debating on bringing up her dream to her friends to hear what they thought it could all mean. While she accepted her analysis of it, something still felt a little off. She might not be a genius, but she wasn't dumb- if she said the words "I had a dream" and "Diana" in the same sentence, Amanda would never let her live it down. ESPECIALLY if the words "where I almost kissed" were between them. She denies the temptation to share because unfortunately, it just so happens that  _that_  is the one part she has questions about.

Quickly she switches to her usual peppy demeanor. "Oh, yeah, I'm totally good! I just didn't sleep super great last night.

"Well that's what you get from eating so much junk food after the game!"

"I bet she was up all night looking at the ball Coach Meridies gave her. How's the bruise?" Sucy interjects.

"Was not!" the brunette grumbles. "And It's purple."

"Cool."

She shoves a fork full of potatoes into her mouth, as her friends continue their game.

_It's just a silly dream. You had dreams about turning into a mermaid to save your fish teacher, and the one about the stock market dragon. There was nothing real about those, and there's nothing real about this one. Lotte's probably right in saying that it's from all the junk food._

She takes another bite of the same starchy mess they served the day prior, but this time she includes one mushy carrot.

"How about you Akko?" Jasminka pokes her shoulder with a smile. "Would you rather wear pants as a shirt or a shirt as pants?"

As Akko steps into her next period Biology class and as passes by the front of the room to get to her desk, her eyes halt on the desk traditionally occupied by a certain blonde.

_Just ignore it. It was just a stupid dream._

A minute or so later, Diana walks into the room and heads to her seat. On her way, she looks up towards Akko who couldn't help but notice the blonde enter the room. As they make eye contact, Diana weakly waves her hand with a small smile before turning to her desk and preparing her books. Akko returns the gesture with a smile and wave of her own.

_Maybe we will be friends._  Akko thinks happily, completely forgoing her previous anxiety over seeing the blonde for the rush of giddiness of being greeted so casually.

Meanwhile, at the front of the room:

_Where did the wave come from? What are you thinking? Hold on. Am I...FLIRTING? Oh, absolutely not…_

Diana places a textbook on her desk and opens to the most recent chapter.

_Friends can wave to one another. But… what if she misinterpreted it? Rather..._

She finds the chapter and opens her notebook to a fresh page.

_Don't be ridiculous, we're teammates. It's a semi-professional partnership. I'm sure it was understood as intended._ _**Friendly** _ _._

She sets her pencil on her notebook before turning to look out the window on the other side of the room. She steals a quick glance at the brunette as she too, diverts her attention to the window.

_...I do wish I had the chance to ask mother about how she and father knew of their feelings._

The rest of the period goes by with minimal awkwardness. Diana had engulfed herself in the lesson, and Akko, despite looking over to the blonde's hair on multiple occasions, actually managed to pay attention to Finnelan's lesson on cell respiration and photosynthesis. She didn't completely understand it, but she'd look over it again later.

At the end of the period Akko grabs her books and leaves, not wanting to be in Professor Finnelan's presence any longer than she needs to be. As she crosses the front of the room and passes Diana's desk Akko taps her desk causing the girl packing her books into her bag to look up.

"See ya at practice!" The brunette beams with a small wave before skipping off to her next class.

"See you." Diana says after a slight pause, a small smile crossing her lips as she watches the girl leave. A soft warmth grows in her chest as she finishes packing her books.

_It's hopeless. She's so sweet... I don't stand a chance._

* * *

Fortunately, or not, Akko's last class with Professor Ursula was painstakingly uneventful. Once the bell rings signaling the end of the excruciatingly long period, she, Sucy, and Lotte meet in the hallway and chat their way to the locker room.

They enter the room to the sound of the boom box playing some pop song swimming in expletives. The song, however, is drowned out by Amanda's laughter as she lays half naked across the changing room bench, Hannah and Barbara glaring daggers at her from across the room.

"I'm just saying, the fact that your uniform numbers are 6 and 9 is actually hilarious. I mean… come on." Amanda laughs.

"I don't know how your immaturity still surprises me." Hannah says continuing to glare as Barbara rolls her eyes and begins to change in front of her locker.

Akko, Sucy, and Lotte open their lockers and begin changing to the familiar sound of Amanda and the two other girls trading blows.

"Pshh… immaturity schmimmaturity. If the coaches picked those numbers specifically for you on purpose I will lick Meridies' cleats. That is too cash money to not appreciate."

"Well then, if it was done purposely, it's no surprise you're number 2,  _behind_  Diana." Barbara smirks.

"Pshh… I'm number 2 because I am  _THE SHIT_." Amanda says not even remotely taken by the jab. "But that's beside the point. You're talking ranking. I'm talking either the Coach or Fate decided that you were meant to be 69ing together."

"YOU ARE SO INSUFFERABLE!" Hannah groans, a wild blush painted across her cheeks, its color matched only by the blush across Barbara's.

"Just ignore her Han." Barbara says as she pulls Hannah away. She serves a pointed glare to the redhead. "Pervs will be pervs."

"Bah! You're no fun!" Amanda dismisses them with the wave of her hand. "Ey Akko! Daaamn! You weren't kidding about that bruise."

"Eh?" Akko looks over to her once she pulls her shirt over her head. "It's okay… No!" She grunts as she swats Sucy's hand away from her side.

"Seriously… you can even see where the laces were." Mary says in awe as she and Blair make their way over to get a closer look at the purple welt.

Even Hannah and Barbara turn their attention towards Akko's side, their gaze only to be broken by Diana walking into the room.

The blonde, not surprised by who seems to be drawing the attention, curiously glances at the marking as she passes by on the way to her locker. She is surprised, however, by what she sees next to the discoloration.

_Gnnn, abs._

Her eyes widen and a blush fills her face before she abruptly turns her attention away and chastises her inner thoughts.

Hannah and Barbara did not miss this aversion.

"Oh, she's got it bad." Hannah whispers and the two try their hardest to mask their light chuckles as the blonde approaches.

A short time later, the coaches exit their office once the girls finish changing. After some inspirational words, not unlike the post-game ones heard the day prior, the coaches lead the girls out to the field.

"Hey Coach!" Amanda yells within earshot of a majority of the team.

"Yes O'Neill?" Croix looks over to her as she walks beside Ursula.

"I was jus' wondering. Who decided the uniform numbers?" The redhead looks over her shoulder towards Hannah and Barbara. Hannah clenches her fists with an audible crack.

"The numbers were chosen at random." Croix bold-facedly lies.

"Funny, I just thought some were awfully fitting-ow!" Amanda stumbles forward after she loses her shoe from a foot to the heel as Barbara retreats back to Hannah's side.

Akko and Sucy cart the batting machine onto the field as Lotte and Constanze follow them with the bag of team helmets. They happen upon a conversation about a particularly grotesque horror movie both Sucy and Constanze have strong opinions about. Lotte, with a disturbed expression and questioning voice, helps translate for Constanze.

Meanwhile, Akko, having minimal interest in how innovative the torture scenes were, diverts her attention towards another group of teammates.

Hannah and Barbara, satisfied with their payback on Amanda, are deep in conversation with a fully engaged Diana.

Despite Akko's earlier reprieve from flashbacks of her dream, the memories return with the reintroduction of the common setting and attire.

_Staaahhhp! Come on Akko, don't make it weird. You're trying to be friends. And friends don't think about weird kiss dreams with their friends._

Akko notes the way the blonde's eyebrows furrow as she speaks to Hannah and Barbara, she assumes explaining something from class.

_Cute._

When she pauses allowing Barbara to ask her a question, Akko sees her cock her head ever so slightly as she listens and considers the question.

_Super cute. Oh god. Stop it!_

As Diana responds to Barbara's question. Akko notices Hannah looking directly at her with a raised eyebrow.

Akko acknowledges the look with a raised eyebrow of her own to which Hannah, sporting the smallest of smug smiles, slowly returns her attention back to Diana and Barbara.

_Oh no… what if Hannah's a mind reader?! What if she knows? Why was she looking at me like that?_

The brunette turns her attention back to her friends. Lotte, seeming genuinely interested in the movie now, asks her own questions about the film.

_Pssh. No way she's a mind reader. Come on Akko. Besides… there's nothing wrong with friends admiring friends… Support your fellow girl! Yeah!_

She chances a glance back towards the blonde and sees that her attention is on adjusting her bat bag. She also sees both Hannah and Barbara looking over at her with identical smirks and inquisitive eyes.

_Eeee!_

She whips her face frontward and trains her eyes on the ground and nods, pretending to respond to her friend's conversation and NOT let her eyes wander for the remainder of the trek to the field.

Once they arrive and drop their equipment, Coach Meridies has them stretch and begin their warm up run. Fortunately for Lotte and Sucy, their stamina has drastically improved since the beginning of the season so keeping up with Akko at the front of the pack (who is both trying to prevent her eyes from wandering as well as avoid looks from a certain blonde's friends) no longer poses significant difficulty.

A few people behind them, Diana finds herself torn between looking at the horizon in the distance or at Akko's brown hair waving hypnotically from shoulder to shoulder as she runs. She forces herself to look away when she finds herself suppressing a laugh while watching the girl's tiny ponytail bob up and down comically with each step.

At her side, Hannah and Barbara glance back and forth between the mildly amused blonde and the unusually rigid brunette in front of them. They look at each other and share a giggle before falling back just out of earshot of their distracted friend.

"You saw Akko looking before. Do you think she might be  _interested_?" Hannah whispers between breaths, stressing her final word.

"But it's Akko… do we really want to encourage her to go for _Akko_?" Barbara responds just as breathily.

"Well, we still don't know for sure. But look at her!" Hannah says gesturing towards the blonde, "Have  _you_  ever seen such a dopey smile on her face before?"

As the girls finish their final lap, Ursula and Croix direct them to the dugout to discuss the particular exercises they plan to work on based on the previous day's game.

A few things- such as determining who to back up during an infield play and being aware of the location of the bleachers when trying to catch a fouled fly ball were a few exercises Akko embarrassingly felt were brought about by her actions. Aside from those, the coaches also talk about going over covering bases for bunts and running high risk steals.

After warming up with some tosses, the girls run out to their positions.

Akko convinces herself to refocus once she stands in left field alongside Mary. She reasons that if Hannah and Barbara were in fact actually able to read her mind, they would have probably told her off at this point. So, since they have yet to threat bodily harm upon her, she figures she's safe. At least for now.

_It's not like I'm thinking bad things. Mary's pretty. Lotte's pretty. Hannah, IF YOU'RE LISTENING, you're pretty. Amanda's pretty in girl clothes AND boy clothes. I'm sure Chariot's STILL pretty! See? Girls are pretty. There's nothing weird about acknowledging it!_

The coaches talk on home plate as the team readies themselves. Croix makes a circle motion with her hand as Ursula nods in response and turns to the fielders.

"Akko! Avery! Blair! Sarah!" The woman shouts. "Grab some helmets! We're going to have you be our first runners!"

After hustling in and grabbing her helmet, Akko stands beside her teammates lined up next to Ursula and the batter's box.

"Okay ladies!" Croix calls out as she makes her way to the third base line "Make your plays as if it's a real game. We're looking to make sure you know who you're backing up. As we saw yesterday, the outfielder's overthrow to third allowed Cavendish to get a third run off of her hit. Had there been a proper cut-off in the outfield or someone backing up third, it's very possible the game wouldn't have ended where and how it did. So, with that said, it is important to anticipate where the ball is going to head after it's been retrieved and to be sure that there is someone backing it up so there are no surprises." She looks over to Ursula and nods her head.

"Ready girls?" Ursula calls out as she lifts her bat into position. "Avery. Would you like to lead us off?"

The purple haired girl jogs over to the batter's box in front of Ursula, just far enough so she is out of reach of the coach's swing. She bends into a sprinting stance and watches Ursula as she decides where to send her hit.

The assistant coach throws the ball up with her left hand, pulls the bat over her shoulder, and swings towards third. The ball bounces across the ground towards Hannah, Avery taking off in a trail of dust.

With the obvious play towards first, Amanda ducks at the pitcher's mound, getting herself out of the way of Hannah's throw. Lotte charges beyond the foul line behind Jasminka, lining herself up with the trajectory of the throw. Breathing heavy, Avery runs and bounds through first base just before Jasminka catches the incoming ball.

"Good placement. Next, Kagari."

Akko steps past Ursula at the plate and readies herself to run as she looks towards the field before her. She takes a breath and twists the toes of her cleats in the dirt readying herself for a sprint. She waves to Lotte in the outfield with a goofy grin, causing the redhead to return the smile and wave before lowering herself into fielding position.

At the  _ting_  of aluminum hitting softball, Akko tears down the first base line. She watches as the ball soars past her, past Barbara, and touches the ground just behind a running Lotte.

_Dang, Professor..._

By the time Lotte reaches the ball, Akko makes her way to first and Avery is turning second as Croix waves her forward. Akko begins to turn wide towards second before seeing Barbara standing on the base raising her glove to catch Lotte's throw with Diana a few feet behind her, shifting her attention between Avery, Akko, and the incoming ball. Barbara catches the ball with a smack and begins walking it towards first base, forcing Akko backward as she watches Avery halt at third. Diana takes on second base in the same instant Lotte races behind Jasminka. Akko quickly backpedals, accidentally bumping into Jasminka and apologizing profusely. Barbara walks the ball towards Amanda, her eyes bouncing between Akko and Avery, who had abandoned her slight lead off third.

"Good caution, Parker! Good hustle, Yanson! Urs!" Croix calls out and looks towards Ursula, tapping her nose with her thumb.

Ursula returns the gesture with a nod. After calling Sarah up to the line, Ursula makes to throw the ball in the air as Avery takes a massive lead off of third. Once Ursula throws the ball in the air, she falls into a bunt stance.

"Bunt!" Hannah yells as she charges forward, stopping herself midway between home and third. As Jasminka moves forward, Barbara runs towards first base, Diana runs towards third and all of the outfielders' sprint inward.

_Ting!_

Doing all she can, Akko stampedes towards second. Through the helmet bouncing on her head, she sees Amanda rush forward and pick up the ball as Avery turns to run and dive back to third. Hannah races back to the base, faking preparation for an incoming throw, Amanda meanwhile, whips the ball towards first over Jasminka's head and into Barbara's waiting glove, getting Sarah out.

Akko stops herself at second, nearly tripping over Sucy's foot waiting on the base.

"O-oh hey Sucy!" Akko says breathlessly as she fixes her helmet.

"Hey Akko… nice Naruto run." Sucy says smiling as she turns away from the base without another word and heads back to the outfield.

Once Avery gets back to her feet and dusts off her knees, Croix makes sure she's okay before addressing the team. "Smart play ladies. Good coverage. When in the position of the runner in a rundown situation, you have couple of options. You can retreat back to your base, or you can challenge the fielder. Challenging the fielder is a little riskier since it becomes more of a chase between bases, however, it also can serve as a distraction to allow the batter to make their way to first. Buckland, for the position you were in, you made the right decision turning back to third."

The fielders get back into their positions and watch as Blair steps up ready to run.

Akko bounces on the rubber base a few times before readying herself into a running stance. She looks ahead, seeing Hannah situate herself just off the baseline while Diana taps her cleat at the edge of the grass separating infield and outfield. Diana lowers herself, keeping her glove just above the dirt as she rests on the balls of her feet. Blue eyes flit towards red as Akko makes a tiny wave with her hand. The blonde's lips curl ever so slightly as she rolls her eyes returning with a small wave of her own before refocusing on the infield.

Akko smiles tightly as she switches her attention to third base. She takes a breath and resets her face, determination painting her features

_Aright, let's show 'em what we can do._

_Ting!_

Akko takes a lead as she watches the ball shoot behind her towards Barbara. The ball skips on the ground leaving a trail of dirt in its wake before being scooped up in the second baseman's glove. Barbara takes a quick glance at Akko before throwing the ball towards Constanze, aiming to get Avery out at home. The moment Barbara sets her feet to throw home, Akko takes off towards third.

It all happened so quickly. Akko barely saw Constanze catch the throw, tag Avery trying to slide home, and throw the ball towards Hannah.

Akko doubles back with a grunt, her legs slide forward as her hands drag on the dirt behind her as she tries to turn herself away from the auburn-haired girl threatening her with the softball. Akko twists around and runs as Hannah begins to chase her back towards second. The third baseman throws the ball past her and by the time Akko looks to the ball, Diana is but a foot away from her, glove open and waiting. The brunette scrambles back to reverse herself yet again, taking off as she hears the sound of the ball meeting the blonde's glove.

_No no no nonononono!_

Akko feels her calves burn as she sprints back towards third, Hannah already reclaiming her position at the base. Diana chases her, close, but not close enough to tag her out. Akko sees her go through the motion of throwing the ball towards Hannah and when she hears another slap of a glove she reverses herself yet again.

_Oh god, this sucks! Come on! Just a little more._

It is then that she feels the tap of Diana's glove on her hip.

"Out! Good job everyone! That ladies, is why we practice suicide runs." Croix calls out from third.

_Huh?! How?_

Akko looks breathlessly back towards Diana, who removes the ball from her glove and lightly tosses it towards Amanda. The blonde turns towards her with a sheepish smile taking deep breaths of her own.

_She faked the throw?! That! That...is so… sneaky!_

"Great hustle ladies, well done Kagari." Croix calls out as Avery and Akko make their way to the dugout to remove their gear. "Robinson! Manbavaran! In!"

Akko gives Sucy a weak high five as they pass on her way to the outfield. Once she settles herself into left field she takes a moment to stretch out her legs as she further contemplates just how she had been duped.

_But like, Hannah played along and made the sound with her glove!? Is that what they teach them on travelling teams?! Organized deception!?_

She looks into the infield at the  _deceitful_  blonde stretching her legs in a lunge.

_That was such a good play. But why'd it have to happen on me?_

Once Diana finishes her stretch she squats into fielding position.

_Why'd she make me literally run into the tag? She's fast, why couldn't she just catch me?_

She looks at the slouching shortstop, her blonde ponytail, pulled through the back of her hat, trails down between her shoulders and leads Akko's eyes on a journey downwards.

_I mean look at her legs. They're like… perfect. She could have totally caught me. She's really..._

Her eyes get stuck on the seat of the blonde's pants.

The fabric of her sweats stretch taut against her legs and rear as she sways lightly on her toes. There is a smudge of dirt just below her left, artistically sculpted glute.

_Wow… For real… um._ She gulps, cocking her head to the side in observation.  _How many… um… squats…_

For a few moments, her brain short circuits eliminating all sensory stimuli aside from her current focus.

_Her butt is…_

"Kagari!"

_Perfect._

"Akko!"

_Hngnnelhsh._

"AKKO!"

_How?_

"HEADS UP!"

_Butt._

"AKKO WATCH OUT!"

THUD!

Her attention stalls as the blonde abruptly turns her body, breaking the brunette's line of sight. It takes her a moment to realize that there is now a yellow softball and a tiny crater beneath it about a foot and a half away from her body that was not there before.

"Kagari, pay attention!" Croix calls out from the foul line.

"S-s-s- um…" Akko's eyes widen to the size of saucers as she feels the blood rush to her face as she realizes what just happened. "I-I-"

_What the hell, me?!_

"Are you okay Akko?" Ursula calls out worriedly from the batter's box as the rest of the team looks over to the brunette with a mix of concern and confusion.

"Ah… um I. Um. Think I um. IM FINE!" She screams with a small laugh. "Might be a little um. WINDED. From the running. Yeah." She takes a big breath and let's it out slowly and dramatically "I'm all better! Sorry!"

Some of the team accepts the answer just because  _'Akko will be Akko'_  and slowly get back to their stances. Diana looks back at her worriedly a moment longer before hesitantly turning back to the infield. Akko looks away from her guiltily and up towards the rest of her friends looking back with concern. She gives them a thumbs up with an embarrassed smile.

_Focus. Now is not the time… to...appreciate...your friend. Let's do this. I don't want to be on the bench for the next game! Come on._

* * *

For the remainder of the practice Akko manages to keep her attention in check. Surprisingly enough, her focus on focusing results in quite a palpable show of improvement.

During her non-playing time she finds that it is an active chore for her to keep her eyes away from Diana, especially after the events of the day. While the practice continues on about as normal as normal can be, she now realizes how many times she finds herself looking towards the blonde based on how often she scolds herself for momentarily yielding to the temptation.

The only other time she found herself blushing during practice was during their batting exercise when Amanda had made a joke about Akko being distracted by the shortstop's ass strictly to get a rise out of the blonde and her two best friends.

Fortunately, it had played off as an Amanda brand joke that had flustered the blonde just enough to be seen by the trained eye  _and_  had Barbara and Hannah threatening the redhead with their bats. Amanda was satisfied with the reactions, and Akko was glad the joke *cough* ended quickly.

At the end of practice, after going over a few more fielding drills and final stretches, the girls are called into a huddle in the dugout.

"Good work today ladies. I know a lot was a refresher for some of you, but-" Croix continues on with her speech as the girls nurse their water bottles.

"Amanda's a total jackass, but I can't help but wonder if she knows anything… about Akko, I mean." Hannah whispers to Barbara behind her glove.

"She does have a phenomenal gaydar, whether she knows it or not… but I don't think she'd out her friend like that in front of everybody. That was totally just a joke to get a rise out of Diana."

"You're probably right." The two of them sigh in thought looking over towards the brunette and the spiky haired girl quietly poking each other whenever Croix looks away from their side of the dugout.

"If Akko  _was_  looking, what do you think Diana would do?" Barbara nudges her auburn-haired friend with a hushed voice and eyes pointing towards the blonde.

The two look over towards the blonde in question who is looking at the coach, paying only partial attention to her words. The rest of her thoughts whirl around what her homework is for the afternoon, what techniques she should work on during her own time, and worrying about a certain brunette's strange behavior a majority of the practice.

"-be rain so be ready for tomorrow's practice bright and early in the gym. Any questions?" The dugout responds to Croix with the shaking of heads. "Alright then, hands in!" Croix yells shoving her arm forward.

The team throws their hands into the center of the circle. Diana looks down into the pile of hands and notes the tanned arm of the hand directly above hers leading to none other than the very girl occupying her thoughts. The brunette's fingers move slightly above her own as she laughs heartily at a comment made by Amanda. A small blush creeps up her neck as she looks at the laughing girl, imagining her calloused fingers intertwined with her own.

_Please… enough of these ridiculous thoughts._

The brunette girl's fingers twitch again and Diana feels its slight movement as a force large enough to move mountains.

_But, still. Is there really harm in enjoying them?_

"-Two, Three!"

"WITCHES!"

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally starting to get a little more gay in here...
> 
> Next chapter I'm giving Akko and Diana a break from their mental anguish and letting a couple of other girls have a turn...


	10. No Place Like Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah and Barbara have a heart to heart.

 

 

After saying goodbye to Hannah and promising to text her after dinner, Barbara goes home and immediately jumps into the shower to clean the sweat and dirt from practice off her body.

She steps under the stream of hot water and instantly feels her muscles loosen. Relaxation washes over her, the mask she wears during the school day falls away with each drop of water trailing down her face. She rubs shampoo through her dark locks, the soap forming rivulets of bubbles traveling over her shoulders and down her back as she she loses herself in thought over the events of the day.

 _I'm talking either the Coach or Fate decided that you were meant to be 69ing together..._  Amanda's voice runs through her head for the umpteenth time this afternoon, and for the umpteenth time this afternoon it causes her face to turn red. She'd really like to blame the steam of the shower, but she knows it's not true.

_Why must she be so lewd? She's such a child._

_Though I will admit it was a little funny._

_Just a stupid joke._

_Hannah and I... are best friends. I might feel a little… more than she feels but I don't think I've made it obvious._

Again, Amanda's words echo through her head.

 _Pff... what does Amanda know..._  
  
As she turns the shower off and the last drops of water make their way to the drain, her eyes widen.

_Wait... DOES Amanda know?_

* * *

Pajama clad, Hannah lays in her bed looking up at her vaulted ceiling as she absentmindedly plays with the ends of her hair. For what seems like the hundredth time in the last 30 minutes she picks up her phone looking for a text notification. And just as she's done the last hundred times, she disappointedly drops it back onto her bed.

_Where's Barbs? She should have been here by now..._

She stretches out in her bed and contemplates sending the first text to check if Barbara was okay. Ever since they were children they had a plan for SOS situations. Fortunately, they never had to use it, but you never know.

_She's probably fine, but she did seem a little distracted when she asked to meet up. She's probably just taking care of whatever that was about, I'm sure she'll tell me about it later._

Her fingers twitch, wanting to reach for the phone. However, on it's last drop on the bed it bounced just out of reach, leaving her fingers stretching in vain.

She looks to her side where framed photographs of herself with family and friends sit on her dresser. More often than not, within the pictures, wherever the auburn-haired girl stood, the raven-haired girl stood as well. She smiles at a particularly sweet picture she managed to snag with the two of them covered in orange dirt, flanking Diana in a group hug after winning their championship game two years ago. The picture brings back memories of the hot sunny day as well as the nasty sunburn and the acne the smeared eye black dripping down their cheeks caused. Hannah hated how her own face looked in the picture, but Barbara had the cutest toothy grin and she found she couldn't bear to hide it away.

She closes her eyes with a yawn as she pushes herself up to grab her phone. She looks at the notification free image of her background and begins to tap her screen against her forehead.

_Don't worry. She's totally fine._

Her phone buzzes against her eyes and she quickly pulls the phone away to get a look. Relieved, she smiles at the name on the screen.

_Baebara: Here!_

With a small " _finally"_  leaving her lips, she jumps off the bed, shoves her phone in her pocket and leaves her bedroom to answer the front door.

* * *

She's been here countless times, but this cool evening with the thoughts that had been running through her head for the last few hours had her feeling a little more anxious than usual as she stands at the front door of the England household.

She stands on the front porch tugging the sleeve of her sweater until she hears the click of the door and watches Hannah, dressed in an over-sized light pink sweatshirt and grey plaid pants, come into view.

"Hey Barb!" Hannah says smiling, inviting the other girl in for a hug, which Barbara falls into as naturally as she always has.

"Hey Han." She says into the other girl's hood. It smells like her, a comforting scent she's grown used to after all these years- a smell that at one point made her heart race and face burn but now fills her mind with a much needed calm.

"What's going on? Everything okay?" The auburn-haired girl asks as she pulls away from her.

"Mm." Barbara takes a second to look into the house before whispering, "are your parents here?"

Hannah looks at her and is suddenly hit with realization. "Uh, yes… they're upstairs. But they won't hear anything if we're out on the back patio. Come on."

Barbara nods her head and follows the other girl through the house.

She looks around the large house, perhaps overly familiar with the layout, aware of every room and cabinet and its contents. She has been welcomed into this house for just shorter than as long as she could remember. She and Hannah met 10 years ago when their parents decided to bring them along to the country club, and while she remembers the redhead being a little shy at first, they quickly warmed up to each other and ever since have been constant companions. It's even come to the point where when she comes over, Mrs. England addresses her as 'her other daughter'. It truly is a place she considers her second home.

But here she walks through the kitchen towards the backdoor as though eggshells were scattered around her feet, nervous about the coming conversation.

_It's nothing bad… it's just a question... we can talk to each other about anything. We can handle it._

Hannah can feel the unease in the air around her friend. While subtle, over the years she's become an expert on the raven-haired girl's tell signs. The nearly invisible pucker of her lips, the fingers of her right hand mindlessly picking at the cuticles of the fingers of her left, the way her right eyebrow pinches just so, creating the smallest of creases above slightly downcast teal eyes.

"Hey, you go outside. I'll be right there, okay?" Hannah says with a smile as she opens the back door.

"Do you want help?" Barbara asks pausing before the threshold.

"It's okay, I'll only be a second." She says waving the other girl towards the couch and chairs surrounding a glass table on the patio.

Barbara makes her way to the couch where she and Hannah always sit. She falls into her spot on the soft cushion and tucks her legs beneath herself as she takes a deep breath inhaling the cool spring evening.

_If Amanda did figure out we like girls… would it really be so bad? I mean, I know my parents wouldn't necessarily be excited, but I don't think they'd react really badly… and Hannah, her uncle has a husband, I think? But school…_

She turns as she hears the backdoor of the house open seeing Hannah step through the threshold with a blanket draped over her shoulders and a cup of tea in each hand.

"I started the pot when you said you'd head over. It's your fa~vorite." The auburn-haired girl sing songs as she places the cup of tea on the table in front of her friend and then sinks in to the cushion next to her, laying the blanket across their laps.

From her seat, Barbara could smell the familiar yet faint scent of lavender and citrus wafting out of the cup of slightly milky liquid. The moment she lifts the teacup to her lips and inhales, the weight in her chest dissipates making way for the warm, sweet, perfumey air to enter her lungs.

_I wonder if she's aware that she always knows how to make everything better._

"Thanks Han." She takes a sip out of her cup allowing the hot tea to travel down and soothe her tight throat.

The auburn-haired girl fixes the blanket as she scoots just a little closer to her best friend. "So, what's the matter?"

Barbara looks towards the door and towards the light of Hannah's parents' bedroom as she places her teacup down on the table. She looks into the hazel eyes looking back into her own, curious, yet fully aware of what has been running through her mind. "Do you think Amanda knows? That we're..."

As predicted, Hannah showed no surprise in her question, only a mild curiosity. "How would she know?"

"I don't know. Just… the… thing she said about the uniforms. Coaches or Fate…"

"That was just Amanda being Amanda." She says rolling her eyes with a slight blush at the thought of the words she had to force herself to stop repeating in her head. "There's no definitive proof, no matter how good her gaydar is. Anything she says is just teasing."

Barbara thinks a moment. Hannah's right, there is literally no proof outside of their private conversations that could point to their less than heterosexual preferences. They don't even mention it over text just in case their phones were to be found in someone else's hand. This revelation seems to placate her, however an additional, far more selfish question found itself tingling on the insides of her lips.

She isn't ignorant of the jealousy she feels when Hannah and Amanda get into it in the locker room, in the hallway, or in shared classes. Their blow for blow banter evolved from distaste into a friendly challenge of one upping the other and the realization of the possible implication itches irritatingly at a part of her mind. She keeps telling herself she would be happy for her best friend, but she needs to know…

"Though, would it really be so bad?" Hannah's shy voice pulls Barbara out of her thoughts. Causing her to look up at her, eyebrows knit in confusion.

_Coming out?_

"You know, being open about it… being gay." Hannah looks down at her hands smoothing the blanket on her lap. "I mean, like, if it comes up, be honest about it?"

"You're ready for that?" Barbara asks as she takes another sip of her tea.

"I don't know." The auburn-haired girl smiles nervously, eyes still on the blanket in her lap. "I just… don't you feel like having that limitation, of trying to hide it, even if it's not relevant at the time, makes you feel guilty? Like, I've accepted it, but I feel if I'm hiding it I'm ashamed of it?"

Barbara allows a soft smile to cross her lips as she watches Hannah's eyebrows knit and her nose scrunch as she allows herself to say the very same things that had run through her own mind not an hour prior.

_It's like she's a mind reader._

"It's not like I think my parents would disown me, they love my uncles. I'm fortunate in that regard, but I'm… not sure if I'm ready to come out per say. But when the time comes, I want to allow myself to not be afraid of hiding it from anybody. Does that make sense?" She finally looks away from the blanket directly into teal eyes.

"Perfect sense. And I feel the same." Barbara responds with a smile as she watches the conflicted expression on her best friend's face melt to relief. "So, what do we do next?"

Hannah shrugs her shoulders and reaches for her own cup of tea. "I guess, just do what we always have...except not be afraid that someone's going to out us. I mean… Amanda's already making jokes, so that's not going to change. If anything, it'll probably make any transition easier. Besides, judging by… her...she's definitely not straight and nobody treats her differently. Heck, I think she was hitting on Diana during travelling, and Diana doesn't have that big of a problem with her."

There's Amanda's name again, the itch in the back of Barbara's mind begins pushing itself forward again.

"Yeah, plus it's a girl's school, it can't be that uncommon. And really... Who would start a fight with us?" Barbara adds with a smirk.

"Besides, we'll have each other no matter what, right?" The auburn-haired girl asks confidently.

"Always." Barbara says as she links their arms and pulls the other girl close. As if she even needed to answer.

The two sit there quietly basking in the warmth of each other and the blanket covering them. Hannah seems content, one arm linked with her best friend and her other hand holding a cup of lavender herbal tea. Barbara however, while immensely comfortable, is compelled by the thought that made its way from the back of her mind to the tip of her tongue.

"Hey… can I ask you something?" Barbara asks sheepishly, biting her lip in a failed attempt to keep the words in her mouth.

Hannah just looks at her with a raised eyebrow. Even saying the word "duh" wouldn't have gotten the point across as well as that raised eyebrow.

Here it comes, the question to which she's awaited the answer with anticipation and dread...

"Do… you...  _like_  Amanda?" She says just above a whisper.

For the first time that evening Hannah looked completely surprised by the turn of events. Her eyes shoot open and her face begins taking on a pinkish hue as she nearly spills her tea into her lap. "Pshh! What? N- why would you think that?!" She sputters out trying to keep her voice as low as possible.

"I… I don't know. You're just super receptive to her flirty teasing… and… I don't know. Sorry." The raven-haired girl attempts to back track, unsure of what answer she received from Hannah's reaction.

"I mean…" Hannah rubs the back of her neck, her blush still prominent on her cheeks. "I'm gonna be honest. She's super attractive... objectively speaking. The girl's a smoking athlete. But, no, while I'm sure she could keep things interesting, I am not… interested in her… in that way."

This fills Barbara with a flood of relief. She could agree that the rebellious redhead wasn't too bad on the eyes, but hearing that the attraction Hannah has for her ends there was like a chorus of angels singing in an amphitheater.

"Why… would you bring that up?" She looks at her with a perplexed expression.

'I-I don't know… it's nothing really." Barbara waves her hands, unsure of where she expected the conversation to lead do. She genuinely didn't think she would straight up blurt out her jealous thought.

"Come on!"

"Really!"

"Please?" Hannah begs giving her puppy eyes as she grabs her hands over the blanket.

_Damn it. She did the eyes._

Barbara breaks. "I was just curious! I know we're watching for Diana, but I'm still wondering about my best friend."

Hannah bites her cheek as she takes a moment to study Barbara's face before a glint shines in her eye. "Fine, fine, fine." She pauses before raising her eyebrows. "Well, what about you then?"

"What?" Barbara freezes, mortified.

"Is there anybody you like?" Hannah clarifies curiously. "You spend a lot of time with Lotte… she's kind of cute."

"Oh no!" Barbara panics.

_The last thing I want is for her to think I like somebody else!_

"She's just a friend! She's just really sweet and it's nice to talk to her about Nightfall and stuff... I know it's not really your thing."

A subtle relief washes over Hannah as she squeezes their linked arms. "Too bad. Well, I guess I'll have to keep my eyes open for you then."

The two sit comfortably in silence for a few moments, slight movements inching them closer to each other's warmth.

The smell of lavender mixing with Hannah's shampoo draw Barbara's eyes to close as she exhales the stress from the conversation out into the air of the cool night. Despite the huge weight off her chest, a piece of her heart still begs a question. She opens her eyes and looks over at her best friend.

_If she sees through your question, you could lose her. Though I guess that is the point of the question in the first place..._

Hannah sits there, eyes closed and neck craned back, taking in the sounds and senses of the night. A small smile lifts her cheeks as Barbara squeezes her arm, gaining her attention.

"Hm?" Hannah hums, her eyes remaining closed.

_Here goes. Maybe she won't think too much into it._

"Would you be ready to get into a relationship with somebody in school?" The raven-haired girl asks averting her gaze and biting her bottom lip.

Hannah stays silent. For a moment Barbara wonders if she's dozed off, but before she decides to check if she's asleep Hannah's voice breaks the silence. "If I met the right person. Yeah, I think so."

Barbara pauses and takes a deep breath.

_Just ask her._

"How would you feel if someone you were friends with wanted… to be more than friends? Wouldn't that be weird?"

Hannah opens her eyes and looks down at her lap with a slight blush. "I suppose, it depends on the friend."

"Wouldn't you be afraid it would ruin the relationship with them if you didn't share their feelings?"

"What are you trying to say?" Hannah looks up at her quizzically.

_Is she-?_

_Just ask her._

The persistent thought that's been eating at her swirls at the forefront of her mind, the question burning at her lips. The fear, the anticipation, the hope of the answer all begging for finality rejoice in a moment of anxious euphoria as Barbara decides her next words.

"Like, hypothetically… if I said I had a crush on you a-and asked you on a date, would you think that would change us?" The dark-haired girl asks with the strongest face she could muster despite the sudden clamminess of her hands. She feels her face redden at the reality of what she just asked of her best friend and looks at her with her heart in her throat.

Hazel eyes lock on teal for a long moment. She tries to search through the crevices of Barbara's mind and soul, hoping the answer she had was the same as the one the other girl wanted to hear.

Her best friend for the last ten years. The very girl that made her question her attraction all those years ago, and the only person she's ever felt comfortable enough to confide in. The girl that felt like home and the most exciting adventure at the same time. As cliché as it sounds, her soulmate. Hannah hesitates, aware that her answer may risk it all… however, at this point, she feels hopeful with her chances.

"Well… I think it would change us a little." She says as she toys nervously with the edge of the blanket. "Hypothetically…" Hannah's tensed eyes resign and fall softly as a pink dusting spreads across her face "...I'd say yes if you asked."

In an instant Barbara's world stops. Through the shock of emotion, she feels her mouth dry and her heart bounce erratically in her chest. The blood pumping through her ecstatic heart rushes to her face as her nose tingles, making way for a thin layer of moisture to well in her eyes.

Her jaw trembles as she attempts to blink herself back to sense. "Wait. Really?" Barbara squeaks in disbelief once she regains a semblance of control over her voice.

Hannah merely looks up to her with a shy lopsided smile. Her hazel eyes, overfilled with the soft and vulnerable emotion of adoration, lock Barbara in place making her dread the question of the possibility of this only being a dream.

Barbara feels a tear escape her eye as she snaps back into reality just in time to see Hannah's smile grow, showing off her sharpened canines, and falling forward wrapping her into a hug.

The raven-haired girl responds in kind, throwing her arms around Hannah in a tight embrace. She buries her face into the other girl's shoulder and shudders as she struggles to contain a relieved sob.

Hannah's eyes prickle with tears as she holds Barbara tighter, smile never faltering. "It's okay, it's okay." She coos through sniffles trying to hold back the crashing waves of emotions- anxiety, relief, happiness, worry, elation, all barraging her in the same moment.

After a few moments allowing her to compose herself, Barbara pulls back from the embrace and looks at Hannah with puffy eyes. "Would… you really? Say yes to going on a date with me?"

Hannah's eyes that had been threatening to overflow finally let loose as tears of happiness stream down her face as she furiously nods her head.

Barbara pulls her back into the hug and the two sit there wrapped in each other's arms until their teary ragged breaths regain a peaceful cadence.

"I was so worried." Barbara croaks. "I… had been so afraid of losing you because…"

"Me too."

The two sit in silence a moment longer before separating. Hannah's hands find Barbara's and with a pleading look meeting her hesitant one she interlocks their fingers with a squeeze. Tired and emotionally spent with smiles still on their faces, they lean against each other, temple to temple.

"So…" Barbara says as she rubs Hannah's knuckles. "What does this mean? What do we do now?"

Hannah snuggles further into Barbara's side dropping her head into the crook of the other girl's neck. "Well… I'm thinking twice about telling my parents." She mumbles with a dazed smile. "If they knew they might not let us do stuff like this anymore."

Comforted by the new sensation of butterflies rising in her chest at the sweet sound of her best friend giggling and the warm breath tickling at her collarbone, Barbara smiles, taking in Hannah's smell as she rests her cheek on a pillow of auburn-hair.

"Should we tell Diana?" She asks quietly.

Hannah pauses in thought, a content smile still plastered on her face. "Eventually. I want to tell her, but… I don't know if I'm ready just yet. Though maybe seeing her closest friends dating each other may help her open up and accept liking Akko."

"Well, you said you didn't want to hide it right? Maybe… we just be how we want to be and if she asks or something comes up we just be honest."

Hannah hums as she nods her head. "God," she buries her face into Barbara's shoulder and groans. "We're gonna be the softball lesbians."

"Well… we don't need to label ourselves." Barbara chuckles as she plays with Hannah's fingers. "We just need each other."

Hannah starts to laugh and she lifts her head to look into Barbara's eyes. "Sorry Barbs… that was super corny. Is that from one of your books?"

"It might be…" blushing, Barbara looks away.

Hannah giggles as she lifts her hand, still intertwined in Barbara's fingers, and brushes the other girl's knuckles across her lips. The raven-haired girl blushes even brighter at the action. "Well… we're not trying to get anyone's attention, so how about we keep the PDA on the down low for now. At least until we're both ready."

Now it was Barbara's turn to laugh. "PDA on the  _down low_?" She asks with a raised brow. "Sounds like you've started picking up on Amanda's way of speaking."

"What? No way!" The hazel eyed girl nudges her playfully as a small blush of embarrassment creeps up her neck.

Barbara straightens her index finger held up to Hannah's lips and taps the tip of her freckled nose. "I think… being on the  _down low_  is a good plan for now."

The two fall back into a comfortable silence, fingers exploring each other's hands in a way they had held themselves back from for so long. Teal eyes wander over the features of her oldest friend. She's the same Hannah as the one that answered the door earlier that evening, but in this moment after everything, each familiar, memorized detail presents itself, illuminated by the new light with a foreign beauty.

She brushes her thumb over Hannah's cheek making the auburn-haired girl open her eyes with a fresh blush on her cheeks.

"So…" Barbara drawls, breaking the quiet. "Does this make us… girlfriends?"

Hannah lifts her head away from Barbara's lulling heartbeat and looks at her teasingly. "I thought you said we don't need labels, just each other, right?" She winks, flashing her fanged smile before brushing a piece of loose hair behind her ear with her free hand. "I'm yours if you'll have me."

Barbara smiles in return and squeezes Hannah's hand with her own. "Well then, would you allow me the honor of being your girlfriend?"

She leans forward and presses her forehead against Barbara's, auburn and black bangs collide as their noses gently brush. "There's never been anyone else I'd be happier to give the honor to."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOOM Hanbara.
> 
> I actually wrote this chapter AFTER writing Chapter 11. I was going to leave it alone, but I really wanted to write their talk. I wasn't sure whether to include it or to put it as a separate story, but I figured it's relevant enough to be included.
> 
> I would like to thank you all for your continued support of this story!


	11. Busses Loaded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls settle in for a long bus ride heading towards their first away game and Diana and Akko find themselves in a few peculiar seating arrangements.

 

 

The days leading up to the Witches away game against the Glastonbury Minotaurs were by far, the  _wettest_  Akko had seen all year. Overcast had been expected, but the downpour was a little out of the ordinary. Or maybe it was only so bad because more than anything Akko wanted to go outside and practice on the field instead of in the hot, stuffy school gymnasium. She missed the smell of the dirt, she missed sliding drills, and her running shoes were just not the same as cleats.

Aside from those factors, the practices were forced to be shorter due to the other sports requiring time to practice in the same space. In order to make sure she didn't fall behind physically and is sure she'd be ready for the next game, Akko decided to join a gym just to top off her practices.

It was also helpful in regards of allowing her to work out without the distraction of a certain blonde shortstop.

Since their practices had been taking place indoors, the change of scenery and not being in the outfield  _directly_  behind the blonde had definitely made it much easier to avoid less than polite thoughts. However, she did still find her eyes enjoyed to wander around to room.

Aside from that (technically, second) dream about her teammate, Akko was relieved to find she hadn't had any repeats that would cause her to feel even weirder about being around her. As the days passed, the shock of the dream had worn off, though still a touch of curiosity remained.

Although she had only been to the gym a few times since the last outdoor practice, she already managed to make a couple gym friends.

If she could really call them friends? For the most part, they have just kept her from dying during her second and third visit.

Sucy and Lotte declined her offer to join for the additional workout, and while she did see Jasminka there every once in a while, she was honestly a little terrified to watch just how much the pink haired girl could lift. So, when she attempted to bench press *way too much*, two very handsome college boys removed the bar from her not strong enough arms.

The two boys, Andrew and Frank, are freshman at Appleton College and had been conditioning for the Appleton Knights tennis team before rescuing the struggling brunette.

Her mind stalled for a minute once they had removed the bar from her hands, be it from lack of oxygen or due to the proximity to extraordinary specimens of 'boy' in front of her. She did find that after regaining herself she suddenly had a far greater appreciation for tennis players.

Frank, the blonde-haired boy, was practically an expert when it came to the weight room. He said he's been a bit of a gym rat since middle school and was now studying to be a physical therapist. He was kind enough to set up an exercise regime for Akko right on the spot after hearing that she had minimal idea of what she was doing. The other boy, dark haired, emerald eyed Andrew, despite at first being cross with her for being irresponsible about not having a spotter, seemed genuinely glad to see her the next time she walked into the gym.

She learned that while the two boys were in fact on the college tennis team, they sneak their cleats with them to the gym so they can play pick up soccer games without their parents' knowledge. Apparently, Andrew's father wants him to focus less on extracurricular activities and more on his education in politics but allows him to play tennis due to its renown and outlet to make beneficial acquaintances.

The two boys were honestly really nice. Yeah, they were older, and a little too jock-y for her personal tastes, but she couldn't say she was opposed to the muscular boys helping her out, despite feeling like a twig in comparison.

Also, seeing Andrew complement Frank during their workout definitely made her feel so much better about her inclination to appreciate Diana's physique.

Nothing weird about looking at and appreciating your fellow person. And if she was going to be honest, being around the two muscle-y guys at the gym was a great distraction from the less than appropriate thoughts of her teammate.

But that was then.

 _Now_  she is sitting on the bus next to the blonde, trying to ignore her lavender scented deodorant and the warmth of her thigh barely touching her own. From the moment she sat down on the bus, any thoughts of attractive gym boys flew out the school bus window.

Diana stares out said school bus window, quietly watching the slightly cloudy world blur past the moving vehicle. Akko, meanwhile challenging her resolve to not seek further warmth of the other girl's leg, stiffly turns to look towards Lotte and Sucy.

Sucy has taken the seat closest to the window, positioning herself as inconveniently to Akko as possible, as Lotte sits next to her talking to Barbara across the aisle.

While Hannah and Barbara did seem closer as of late, she is honestly a little surprised Lotte wasn't sitting next to the other Nightfall fan. She had fully expected to be warding off side jabs sitting next to Sucy, however, at the moment, she feels that would be preferable over being worried of if the blonde could see her anxiety (about what exactly, she's not sure) through the minimal space between them.

It's not like she doesn't  _want_  to sit next to Diana, she's just a little surprised that of all the people on the team, she managed to get seated with the only person she has the most complicated feelings about, which are far from being quelled due to their close proximity. Just her luck.

Hannah, with headphones in her ears, secretly looks through the gap between the seat and window in front of her at the flushing blonde's reflection. Barbara watches the reflection as well, but has found the ribbon in Hannah's hair just a little more interesting.

Diana, similar to the brunette next to her, sits slightly more rigid than usual with notebook in lap in an attempt to get some homework done. Even though a certain part of her is elated that the girl is sitting with her, since the second she sat down, Diana had been scolding herself for being tempted to move just a little closer to the brunette.

She had been racking her brain as to why this was happening. Of all of the people she could have been seated with (even Amanda would have been fine!), here she is, praying that her...friend…can't sense the physical effect she has on her.

And the Glastonbury field is still a way away...

At the beginning of the ride they had spoken briefly, but Akko seemed a little hesitant to continue the conversation prompting Diana to assume the worst.

Sure, she is kind of a genius (not her words) and had been described as 'stupid hot' (Akko's words), but when it comes down to showing emotion, she is reserved and excruciatingly self-conscious. The whole 'being flustered over someone' thing is not entirely welcomed, but at the same time, the pleasant feeling whenever she sees the brunette in the hallway laughing alongside her friends…or chewing the end of her pencil in class…or making her cute scrunched up face while double knotting her cleats, is something she finds herself quite fond of.

From the reflection on the window, Diana watches Akko's eyes flit up to her before quickly looking away. Diana worries her bottom lip as she attempts to refocus on the trees blurring past on the side of the road.

_I haven't done anything offensive have I? What if Amanda said something and she-_

Suddenly she is pushed flush against the window, notebook being knocked to the floor as Akko's entire body presses against her.

_Speak of the bloody devil…_

"Amanda! Get off! What the heck!" Akko grumbles trying to push her friend that is now half sitting on her lap and half pushing herself further into the seat.

"Whoops. Sorry." She says adjusting herself so she sits with her back against the window, settling herself in Diana's lap while draping her legs over Akko's, squishing the two girls together. "I wanted to see that was going on with this side of the bus." She wraps her arm around the back of Diana's neck. "Sup Cav. Just like travelling eh?"

"Just as unwelcome now as it was then, O'Neill." She responds with a frown.

"Pssh. You're no fun." She says crossing her legs, cutting off circulation in Diana's leg.

Akko looks over at the redhead with her arm around the blonde as she tries to process why the scene beside her is making her blush and feel… jealous? Her thought is cut off by Croix yelling from the front of the bus.

"O'Neill! Back to your seat." She and Ursula sit together across from Nelson who is going over the varsity lineup.

"Now."

"But MoOoOom!" Amanda groans as she removes her arm from Diana's shoulders and lifts herself off the blonde and brunette's laps.

Croix fixes her with a look, points at her and then points to her previous seat.

"Fine. Fine." She heads back to her seat behind Hannah and Barbara. That is, after tickling Akko in the side, causing her to jump straight into the blonde's lap and elbow her hard in the stomach.

A pained grunt escapes the girl as she folds inward, her head banging against the brunette's shoulder.

Akko screeches internally and externally.

"Ooooooooohhh no! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Akko flails, putting her hands on the blonde's stomach in an attempt to soothe where her elbow stabbed her.

"Diana!" Hannah and Barbara yell in a panic.

_Shit Shit. Shit. Shit. No. No. No. No. Gnuhh wow is that all muscle? Crap. Crap. Crap._

"Akko…" Diana wheezes.

"Eh?" Akko looks at her wide eyed, red faced and panicked.

Diana, head still hanging, places her hand on Akko's back and pushes weakly. "Please... get off."

At that moment she realizes she is still on the blonde's lap. "HAI HAI GOMENNASAI GOMENNASAI!" The brunette scrambles off her as gently as possible. Unsure of what else to do she puts her hand on the other girl's back and awkwardly rubs between her shoulders.

"Oh crap, sorry Di!" Amanda calls out timidly scratching the back of her head. Hannah and Barbara turn to face her, their eyes shooting daggers.

"You okay Cavendish? What happened?" Croix asks as she makes her way down the bus aisle to assess the damage.

While the wind had gotten knocked out of her and the jab was surely going to leave a bruise, she's pretty sure there isn't anything to really be worried about. While she did find the warm hand rubbing her back comforting, she wished it wasn't coupled with the pain in her stomach.

Diana takes a breath and lifts her head to look up at the approaching coach. "I'm alright. It was just an accident, I'm fine."

"You sure? Urs, grab an ice pack!" She calls, the assistant coach already rustling through a duffel bag in the seat beside her.

Diana straightens herself causing Akko to cease her hand movements. "Really, that won't be necessary. But thank you."

"I'm so so so so so so sorry!" Akko says as she removes the hand from the blondes back and bows her head repeatedly.

"I'm fine. Really." She insists catching the girl's eyes, a little embarrassed as to how much she finds herself missing the contact of the hand. "It was accidental, please don't worry about it."

"I feel really bad-oh!" Akko quickly bends over to pick up Diana's fallen notebook. "Here, you dropped this..."

And in that moment the bus took a rather sharp turn making the already off-balance Akko, tip yet again into the blonde's lap, this time head first.

 _Bloody hell, what sins have I committed for this to be my existence?!_ Diana laments.

"Heh heh hey." The brunette nervously laughs, pushing her face off the other girl's legs. "S-sorry. Heh- here's your book!" Akko stutters, moving away from the blonde once more, thrusting the notebook towards her.

"Thank you, Akko." Diana whispers flatly as she grabs the book and averts her eyes.

"Akko, remind me to never sit next to you on the bus again…" Sucy says snickering beside Lotte who watches on in amusement.

"I-it's not my fault! The bus moved!"

"Yeah. It does that."

As the two argue a few moments longer Diana calmly resets her mask and opens her notebook to where she left off in her studying, begging that the blush on her face is not as red as it feels.

Meanwhile, Hannah was shaking next to an equally amused Barbara. The auburn-haired girl bites her knuckle in an attempt to conceal her laughter as she watches her friend glow in the seat in front of her.

Akko sits bright pink and silent for a minute or so as she tries to take up as little room in the seat as possible.

_Stupid bus. Stupid Amanda. Stupid book. Stupid elbow… Why me?_

"Akko?" Diana asks hesitantly.

The brunette turns to meet her eyes, embarrassed and ready to be kicked out of the seat. Diana looks back at her almost freakishly neutral. The only thing betraying that she was not in fact a robot was the residue of a light pink blush on her face.

_I can just sit on the floor. Or maybe I can sit with the gear at the front of the bus._

"Would you mind handing me my pen please? I... believe it landed by your feet."

"Eh?" Surprised, she cocks her head before looking down between her legs to, sure enough, see the pen in question. "Oh."

_She's not… mad at me?_

She bends over and grabs the pen without incident and holds it out to the blonde. "Here ya go..."

"Thank you-" She reaches for the pen as the bus jumps causing Diana to grab Akko's fingers around the pen.

It was brief, barely even for a second, that their eyes shot up towards one another's. Red meets blue and in that moment the slight touch of their fingers act as the catalyst responsible for the current of electricity coursing through them lighting nerves aflame.

_Wow._

Diana is the first to recover. She quickly takes the pen from the other girl's fingers, thanking her again once regaining her voice. In an instant, she turns back to her notebook and allows her hair to fall forward to hide her face.

Akko sits in her seat still facing the blonde, silently gawking at her fingertips.

_What...That was crazy. What was that?_

She shifts her eyes to the blonde. Her hanging hair blocks her face from view, only a single red ear peeks from behind green tinted bangs.

_Did she feel that too?_

Diana stares at her notebook forcing her eyes over the same line for the fourth time.

_Calm yourself. Honestly. You are completely and irrationally blowing this out of proportion... But she's blushing… Stop! You are only setting yourself up for failure... But..._

"Yooo! What are  _YOU_ doing listening to MCR?!" Amanda hollers, momentarily startling both Diana and Akko from their thoughts.

"Amanda!" Hannah growls through gritted teeth trying to snatch her headphones back from the redhead leaning over her seat.

"Dear GOD!" Everyone turns to the sound of Coach Croix yelling from the front of the bus. "Will SOMEONE put a seat belt on O'Neill?!"

* * *

 

The rest of the ride is relatively quiet aside from the idle chatter of the JV and Varsity teams.

Lotte pulls out her headphones and offers Sucy an earbud as she scrolls through the music library on her MP3 player. Sucy places the bud in her ear and closes her eyes as Lotte makes her selection. Behind them, Avery and Blair whisper about some boys they saw playing soccer the day before.

Constanze and Sarah huddle around Mary's phone, giggling as they watch a video compilation of people falling. Jasminka works on her homework as she cracks open a bag of chips which she shares with Amanda who is sitting almost upside down her seat, resting her ankles on the top of the backrest in front of them.

Hannah and Barbara sit closely staring out of the bus window, intertwined fingers between them. The dark-haired girl nudges the other's shoulder, prompting hazel eyes to turn to her and to pause the music playing through their shared headphones. Hannah smiles shyly and gently squeezes Barbara's hand before giving her a questioning look.

Returning the smile, Barbara leans in looking up at the shoelaces dangling inches above their head. "I know I sound like a child, but I really want to tie Amanda's cleats together." She whispers.

The two stifle a giggle and gently bump their heads to one another. After a moment they return their attention to the blurring world outside their window as Barbara discreetly plays with the folds of Hannah's uniform.

At the front of the bus, Nelson and Croix are in a heated debate about wooden versus metal bats while Ursula pours over the lineup and statistics sheet. Ursula looks up at them and purses her lips with a smile. She runs her hand across Croix's forehead, her fingers guiding a stray lock of lilac hair back behind her ear.

Before Ursula can make her way back to the papers in her lap, Croix catches her hand and lifts it to her lips, kissing her knuckles. Intense teal eyes hold red in appreciation until disrupted by the sound of a clearing throat.

Nelson smiles at the two, rolling her eyes and gesturing behind them to the bus filled with high school girls.

The two retract their hands and Ursula goes back to her paperwork as Croix resumes her conversation with the Varsity head coach, both younger women wearing a matching pink dusting across their cheeks.

The bus shakes after driving over yet another bump in the road and Akko finds herself acutely aware that the movement has shifted her closer to the blonde. While a part of her yells at her to move away, to give the other girl space, another part begs that she stay.

_I don't know what to think. That wasn't like… a static shock… that was different. It felt..._

Akko peeks over at Diana's notes unable to help herself from admiring the other girl's handwriting.

_First the dream...now this…_

Aware of the girl by her side, Diana looks towards the window to see Akko's conflicted expression reflecting in the glass.

_You're a terrible friend. She's clearly uncomfortable and you're just… ignoring her? She's done nothing wrong._

She pulls her gaze away from the girl in the reflection and down to her notes. She worries her bottom lip ashamed.

_Get over your feelings. She deserves better than your cowardice._

She closes her eyes and takes a breath before turning to face the brunette.

"Are you alright? You look… troubled." She tried as well as she could to sound as though everything was normal.

The brunette meets her eyes, confusion whirls behind red irises before stilling in a moment of panic.

_Ahh ahh ahh! Okay okay think fast Akko, think um.._

"Ah, um… n-no, sorry, I'm fine, I just… um." She quickly glances around, eyes landing on the notebook. "W-was… um… just looking at your notes… yeah. And uh… are those the notes from Finnelan's class?" Akko looks again at the notebook, 'History' neatly written at the top of the page.

 _Way to go dumbass._ She mentally slaps herself.

Diana hesitates for a moment, looking at the top of her notebook. If she was going to be honest she herself had forgotten what she was trying to study. "They are not… but I should have them with me. Did you need something clarified?"

"Huh?" Akko snaps her attention to the blonde's eyes, surprised by the offer. "Wait, really? You'd help me?"

"Of course. Where are you having trouble?" Diana says genuinely as she closes her history notebook and reaches towards her bag. She is beyond relieved for the normal topic matter. For the first time on this entire bus ride she feels a semblance of the control that had been eluding her.

Akko racks her brain, despite the conflicting thoughts of ' _if she hated me she wouldn't have asked'_  and ' _maybe she does hate me, but is just too nice to show it' warring_  in her head _,_  she actually did have questions about whatever the biology teacher had been droning on about.

"Um… I was a little confused about the phase thingies from the other day." Really the only part of the lecture that she remembered was something about telophase because that's when she snapped out of a daydream to the sound of Finnelans' voice saying the word 'cleavage'.

Diana takes out her new notebook and begins flipping through the pages to the appropriate chapter. "Is there any one part in particular?"

"Eh…" she blushes.  _All of it?_

"Look alive ladies! Let's get ready to roll!" Croix calls as she begins to rise from her seat.

"Finally!" Amanda groans.

Diana looks out the window as the bus turns into the parking lot of a park. "It looks like we've arrived, but if you'd like I can go over it on the way back?"

"Really? You wouldn't mind?" The longer she thought about it, the more she realized she may actually need help with the material. And if Diana, the smartest girl in class was willing...

"Not at all. I'd be happy to."  _It's what friends do._

The bus comes to a stop and outside the window is a fenced in field, the Minotaurs already practicing in left field.

"Alright girls! Stretch out your legs!" Nelson calls from the front of the bus stretching her arms skyward eliciting a few impressive pops from her back. "Let's get out there and show 'em a good time."

* * *

It proves to be a rough game.

The final score ends with the Witches in favor 3 to 2, the last run making it's way over the plate in their last at bat.

The two teams found themselves nearly evenly matched. When it came to batting, Amanda and the opposing pitcher were engaged in a silent competition trying to one up the other's pitching game as the innings progressed. While the balls were hittable, a majority of the outs came from flawless defensive plays.

The Witches cheered in the dugout, determination challenged, but still fighting. Despite all that happened on the bus, both Diana and Akko immersed their focus on the game. Any weird feelings from before were drowned out by the energy of the game and reward of sweat and exertion. The high of competition and the persistent encouragement of cheering teammates drove everyone forward during the hardest innings.

The majority of the game was dotted with score stopping catches and frustrating tagged outs, even the practiced calm expression Diana wears was marred by grit teeth as she watches a profanity spewing Amanda walk back to the dugout after suffering the same tagged-out fate.

While this pitcher allowed Diana to hit the ball, unlike the pitcher in the first game, she found herself having a hard time staying on base. While she did bring two runs in, she herself was unable to make her way around the bases.

Akko, unfortunately, did not find herself on base at all during this game. She managed to hit the ball twice in the second half (which left her ecstatic as she ran, but the reward was short lived after both times the ball made its way to the first baseman before she did.

After acting as morale booster for the first half, Akko stepped into the outfield determined and ready. Despite the let down in the batter's box, she found herself having a good day in left field. She closed the fifth inning with a double play preventing a run by diving and catching a pop fly, scraping her knees and elbow in the process, before scrambling up to make a beautiful throw to Constanze at home plate who tagged out the runner on third before scoring. While she had refrained from dwelling on the blonde, she felt an incredible pride when the girl clapped her on the shoulder with a smile as the team made their way back to the dugout.

In the last inning, Jasminka rocketed a ball past the right fielder allowing Avery, who was acting as Amanda's pinch runner, to score the final run. The next at bat brought them back to the field with the task of holding the Minotaurs off from scoring another run. A walk, three hits, two catches and one outstanding tag by Barbara later, the game was over. The two teams come together to say 'good game' in a show of good sportsmanship before they filed into the dugout to pack up their things.

After a quick speech from the coaches and the awarding of the game ball to Amanda for her consistent pitching and restraint from aiming at the opposing pitcher's leg, they met up with the Varsity team on the next field and head onto the bus.

True to her word, Diana invited Akko to sit with her on the way back to Luna Nova. Once the excitement of the game quieted and the bus turned out of the parking lot, the blonde reached into her bag and pulled out her biology notebook, turning to the relevant content.

About twenty minutes in, Akko is hit by the exhaustion from the game and finds herself having a hard time keeping her eyes open. It doesn't help that in order to not disrupt the rest of the students on the bus, Diana is keeping her voice low, which, along with the material, is helping in lulling her to sleep.

Trying to stay awake, she tries refocusing on the review and asks questions, which Diana has been more than willing to answer. However, she finds the softness of her explanations only add more weight to her eyelids.

Outside the window, the sun makes its descent, lighting the sky up with smears of orange and pink, it's shining light glaring into the window right into squinting eyes.

At last, she gives in. The last thing she sees before falling into darkness is the blonde girl illuminated by a halo of sunlight, blue eyes reflecting gold.

"Try using the acronym 'IPMAT' to help you remember the order of the pha-" Diana stalls as she feels an unfamiliar pressure on her shoulder. She looks over to see the brunette lightly snoring into her hair.

Her heart explodes in a blossom of warmth as she studies the girl rising and falling with each calm breath. Her eyes pause at long dark eyelashes on peaceful resting eyes catching the light of the sun...a small smudge of orange dirt on a soft tanned cheek...a small sliver of a scar on the same slightly parted lips making the smallest of sounds at each inhale and exhale.

It takes all the willpower she has to refrain from brushing aside the stray hairs hanging in the sleeping girl's face.

Her imagination goes wild with the thought of wrapping her arm around the other girl's shoulder, allowing her to fall comfortably against her. She can almost feel her fingers gently stroking the brunette's cheek and her lips tingle at the thought of chastely brushing against her forehead.

She's unsure if the heat she feels is solely from the blush on her cheeks or is only amplified by the sun beaming through the window.

_This girl is NOT good for my blood pressure._

She averts her eyes away from the girl in an attempt to halt her fantasy. During this momentary refocus of attention away from the brunette, she realizes just how quiet the bus has become and looks around slowly as not to disturb the sleeping girl.

Without moving, she can only see Lotte and Sucy in the next seat over. The redheaded girl is three-quarters deep in an issue of Nightfall while Sucy sits next to her, resting her head against the window, subtly mouthing the lyrics to the songs she has playing through her headphones.

She can hear a few girls behind her engaged in quiet chatter, but it seems that the game has taken its toll on their energy. She turns her head to look at the windows reflection of the seat behind her. She sees Hannah looking out the window with tired eyes sharing her headphones with Barbara. She can't see very much in the reflection but she can make out dark hair resting against the auburn-haired girl's shoulder.

She looks back down at Akko, who she assumes is in a similar position to the girl behind them and smiles softly as the brunette unconsciously nuzzles a little further into the crook of the blonde's neck.

_I'd hate to wake her._

With her hands crossed over the notebook in her lap and a gentle sigh, she leans her head back against the seat, succumbing to the position she's found herself in.

_I must be insane, but what's the use?_

She closes her eyes, taking in the faint salty smell of dried sweat and the hard-working floral deodorant of the girl next to her.

_I'm being selfish, but it's not going to hurt anyone other than myself. Right?_

Her breath begins syncing with the rhythm of the brunette's rising and falling chest as she gives into her fatigue and the quietness of the bus lulling her to rest.

_Ah, forget it. Enjoy this feeling while it lasts..._

* * *

An unspecified amount of time later, the bus jumps, bumping Akko's into the cheekbone of the girl who had drifted asleep atop her head. Diana's eyes groggily open from her nap as she feels the brunette's hair beneath her cheek. She takes a deep breath, her eyes drooping closed for a moment longer as she rubs her cheek against the other girl like a pillow. Suddenly her eyes shoot open, any residue of drowsiness forcefully ejected out the window as she jerks her head off the brunette's, fully aware of what she had just done  _in public_  to  _her friend..._

Red faced, she grits her teeth and averts her eyes out the window, seeing that they were nearing the school. She concludes that the other girls on the bus have regained some lost energy from the ride based on the increase of overlapping conversation around her. Her head whips around towards Lotte and Sucy, who thankfully are still occupied with their book and window respectively.

_Oh, thank goodness. What was I thinking?_

She looks at the girl next to her, thinking about how to go about waking the still sleeping brunette.

 _She looks so peaceful. It's a bit of a shame we're already back to the school_.

She bites her lip and nudges her shoulder, hoping to wake the brunette with as little contact as possible. When Akko makes no indication of waking, the blonde reaches her hand towards the girl's knee and gives it a light shake.

"Akko. Akko hey." She says quietly as not to startle her. "Wake up. We're back. Akko."

Burgundy eyes open hesitantly with a yawn. "Hmm" she grumbles.

"Hey. You fell asleep during my review." She says jokingly with a small smile as she watches the adorable girl wipe the sleep from her eyes.

"S-sorry." Akko, still waking up, says not so apologetically as she stretches in her seat. "You're really comfy…we should take more naps together."

Diana freezes, growing pinker by the second. "U-um..."

Hannah, who had been only sort of paying attention to her friend throughout the bus ride, violently rips the earbud out of her ear, startling Barbara awake in the process, and presses herself to the window to see as much as she can.

Akko finishes her stretch with a satisfying crack and looks dopily over to the bright pink blonde. It takes her brain a moment to process what she just said but when it catches up with her, burgundy eyes nearly pop out of her head.

"Ah-ah, I mean… I… didn't mean...ah man… I'm sorry. I keep making everything so awkward!" She groans sporting her own bright blush. "I'm sorryyy."

Diana continues to stare at her, face refusing to return to its natural color.

_Bloody hell! Say something!_

"I-it's fine." She says looking away as a small smile stretches across her lips without permission. "And… th-thank you. I suppose."

Akko looks at the flustered blonde and can't help but notice how her smile makes her feel like melting into the floor and floating to the roof of the bus at the same time. She opens her mouth only to be interrupted by Nelson standing at the front of the bus clearing her throat.

"Great job today girls. I know it's been a long ride, but please make sure to grab all your things before getting off the bus. Coach Meridies and Callistis will let you into the locker room and then you are all free to go. Have a goodnight, get home safely, and we will see you tomorrow for practice!"

With that queue, the JV and Varsity teams rise from their seats and load up their bags and gear.

"That drive took forever!" Barbara says with a stretch. "When did it get so dark out?"

"When the sun went down, Babsie." Amanda snarks on her way off the bus. A smirk makes its way across her face before dropping as she catches herself from falling over Barbara's foot sticking out (not so innocently) in the aisle.

As Lotte and Sucy begin to follow a stabilized Amanda towards the bus's exit, Akko steps out of her seat into the walkway. Her eyes land on Diana as the blonde slips her notebook into her bag.

"Uh, Diana." She says causing the blonde to look up at her. "Sorry again… and thank you for the biology help. I… really appreciate it." She says with a sheepish smile.

The blonde, finally free of her glowing blush, smiles back at her, "No need to apologize. And it was my pleasure to help. Enjoy your evening, Akko."

"You too." She says shyly, before making her way down the aisle to follow her other friends off the bus. As she steps off the bus and feels the air hit her face her eyes shoot open and her head fills with dread.

_OH GOD PLEASE TELL ME I WASN'T SNORING!_

 

__

__


	12. Cleanup Hitters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the Luna Nova softball team's season fundraiser. On the hottest day of the year, its not just the sun causing a certain blonde to sweat.

 

 

"Croix!"

"Croix…"  _thud_  "Fuck!"

"CROIX!"

"WAKE UP!"

The lilac haired woman is startled awake by a pillow smacking into her face. She groans as she pushes the offending object away. "Ow, Chari. Shit. What's wrong?"

Ursula tears through the dresser in the corner of their room in sweatpants and a bra. "We're late!"

"Late for what? It's Saturday." Croix squints before slipping her glasses on with a yawn.

"The fundraiser, Croix! We're the morning shift!" The blue haired woman panics as she flings a shirt at the woman blatantly checking her out from the bed.

"Oh crap…" the head coach grunts as she groggily pushes the blankets away, the air conditioning hitting her nearly nude body immediately making her miss the warmth of the sheets. "That's today? What time?"

Ursula pulls a Luna Nova t-shirt over her head causing her hair to splay into a worse mess. "Ten minutes ago!"

* * *

Three games (two wins and one loss), a heat wave, two big class projects, and nine scrapes and bruises since their first away game, Akko stands beside the rest of the team with a bathing suit under a tank top and shorts in the Luna Nova parking lot.

In past years, the Luna Nova softball team fundraiser had consisted pretty regularly of bake sales and raffles, however, after an incident (i.e. Jasminka stowing away the baked goods and Amanda drawing crude pictures on the raffle prizes) the school decided to replace its usual tactic with a car wash, much to the disappointment of most of the team.

They had been waiting twenty minutes for their coaches to arrive in the highest temperature they've experienced this season. Although no cars have shown up and the girls were taking advantage of the time for socialization, patience is a virtue unfamiliar to the grumbling brunette sporting a wet towel over her face.

"Are you trying to waterboard yourself?" Sucy asks turning to the girl at risk of suffocation.

"IPH PHO PHAA!" Akko muffles through the towel.

"You're doing it wrong."

"Did we get the date wrong? Are we sure this was today?" Lotte asks tugging at her shorts as she looks around at the rest of the girls.

"We all showed up… I'm pretty sure they're just late." Barbara says as she hands a bottle of sunscreen to Diana and proceeds to massage sunscreen onto Hannah's exposed shoulders.

"They probably overslept… I'm sure they were  _busy_ all night." Mary says the second half quietly while wiggling her eyebrows, eliciting a few giggles from the girls who heard it.

"Do you think they live together? Or like… can Coach Callistis not drive, and like, they actually just carpool?" Avery questions through an amused smile.

"I think it would be super cute if they lived together!" Lotte gushes. "Having someone you love with you at your job and then go home to sounds so romantic!"

"And also very exhausting." Sucy deadpans.

"PHEH SHUHF GUU PHEHNSH!"

"Sure, Akko." The pink haired girl pats her on the shoulder.

"Don't you think Coach Croix looks like she'd take charge in their relationship?" Barbara giggles as she whispers in Hannah's ear.

"Really? I always thought she looks like textbook definition of a power bottom..." Hannah muses, enjoying the massage from her girlfriend. "What do you think, Diana?"

Through the light blush on her cheeks from the topic matter of the conversation, Diana focuses on rubbing the sunscreen onto her neck and arms. "I don't think we should be speculating on our coaches love lives. If such an inappropriate conversation were to be heard by the wrong person they may be dragged into a scandal and lose their jobs."

_Though... I can absolutely see Coach Ursula being far more dominant in private than she lets on._

"Get the 'I'm boring' stick out of your ass, Cavendish." Amanda says as she strolls by dragging the hose around behind her. "It's just a little fun… don't take it so  _personally_." The redhead says with a smirk and a glint in her eye.

Diana's jaw clenches, her eyes widening a fraction against still pink cheeks before turning towards Amanda with a hard look.

Calm as ever, Amanda takes the silent death threats thrown at her by blue eyes. After making sure she didn't have anyone else's attention she shoots a quick wink at the blonde before turning and walking away. "Speak of the devil, here comes the catcher and pitcher." Surely enough, through the sea of muffled giggles, the girls see Croix's car driving through the lot.

"Sorry ladies, we got stuck in some traffic." Croix calls out as she and Ursula pull up to the curb in her car. "Kagari, stop trying to waterboard yourself, we haven't even started yet."

Sucy pulls the wet cloth off the brunette's face. "BUT IT'S SO HOOOOT! EEEP!" She jumps as her feet are hit with a stream of ice-cold water, courtesy of a smirking Amanda and her garden hose.

"Okay ladies. Come on." Croix says, failing to hold back a snort of her own as she gets out of the car and tries to gain the attention of the giggling group of teenagers. "Who here has ever washed a car before?"

The older women look to the group of girls. Only Constanze, Amanda, and Sarah have their hands raised as the rest look back at them tiredly.

"Alright, well…how about we demonstrate on my car, huh?" Croix says as she turns to look at her car. "My chariot is absolutely filthy." She says as turquoise eyes discreetly hold their gaze on a bright red, positively steaming, Ursula.

"Chariot!?" Akko's yells suddenly very attentive to her surroundings, immediately startling awake the girls on the team who were still fighting their drowsiness.

"Alright! O'Neill, give me the hose." The lilac haired woman says as she turns towards the redhead.

Amanda giggles under her breath, leans towards Constanze and Jasminka and whispers, "that's what she said." The two crack smiles as Amanda walks the hose towards the coaches, presenting it with a flourish.

"Alright, so it's pretty simple…" She covertly winks at Ursula with a quick smile before turning towards the car and shooting a stream of water at the its side. "First, before anything, you want to make sure it's all nice and wet..."

Amanda and Constanze snort before Jasminka whispers. "That's also what she said."

Ursula slaps her forehead with a strangled laugh as she hears several of the girls looking on burst into giggles.

_Jesus christ, Croix._

* * *

By the end of Croix's terrible innuendo filled tutorial on how to wash a car, her car was spotless and the girls stand at the ready- soap buckets, towels, and sponges in hand.

Twenty minutes pass until the first car pulls into the parking lot. Akko, sick of doing nothing and feeling the sun burn at her shoulders, shuffles excitedly to finally use the towel in her hands. Next to her, Sucy groans the second she sees the car, drawing confused glances from the rest of the team.

The car pulls up and suddenly a dog and two miniature Sucys pop their heads out of the window screaming "CAR WASH!" The rest of the team never would have imagined that they could ever see that much expressiveness and vigor on the face (or almost the face) of the center field cannon.

"Garie! Sabi! Quiet!" Mrs. Manbavaran yells from the driver's seat. "Get that dog off the seat!"

"But Capy wants to see!" The small Sucy with pigtails whines as she jumps on the seat alongside her twin sister.

Sucy groans as she walks through the dumbfounded team of girls and approaches the car. "Sabi, listen to Mom. OR ELSE…"

"Or else what?!" Gerie challenges as she hangs out the car window.

"Or else I'm going to do something that will force child protective services to take you away." Mrs. Manbavaran growls. "And then you'll be put in the foster system, separated, and probably tortured until you're sold off to be used as lab rats, where you'll develop agonizing side effects and extra limbs until you forget the family you used to have and the only thing you'll remember is the pain you feel with every injection of experimental poison."

Sucy smiles at them darkly, nodding her head slowly.

The rest of the team look at each other with a mixture of mortification and a new understanding of the origin of Sucy's sense of humor.

Akko looks on in abject horror before leaning over to Lotte. "T-that's not really what happens, right?"

The twins look at their big sister, seemingly weighing their options before releasing one last harmonious scream of "OKAY!" and falling back to their seats to busy themselves with handheld video games.

"So, you want the car cleaned or what?" Sucy deadpans.

"Thank god she's on track to work in a lab. Her customer service skills leave much to be desired." Croix whispers to Ursula as she stands awkwardly listening to the conversation between mother and strikingly similar daughter.

As the morning carries on, more cars pull into the lot occupying the girls' time and distracting them from the heat.

Constanze brought out the boom box and put on a radio friendly playlist (Ursula approved), and Jasminka prepared lemonade with water bottles and powder mix she apparently just so happened to have on her person.

By far, the worst decision was to allow Amanda to be in charge of the hose and rinsing. Croix's rationale was that if she's not near the car she cannot damage or draw anything inappropriate on it, however the realization that errors were made comes at the expense of the constant threat of being sprayed. Though, in her own noble defense, Amanda claims it to be her duty as the sole defender against the heat.

Hannah and Barbara manage to affix themselves to the position of running soap buckets and rinsing sponges; Sarah, Blair, and Lotte take on the job of toweling the cars dry; Avery, Jasminka, and Diana are on window duty, and Sucy, Mary, Constanze, and Akko adopted the roles of 'vehicular soap scrub technicians.

At this very moment, along with a majority of the other girls, Mary and Sucy have stepped away from the car in order to watch Akko and Constanze race to see who could clean its side faster. While Constanze has technique on her side, Akko has unadulterated competitive drive. Needless to say, she has just as much soap on her as she has applied to the car.

This did not go by unnoticed by a lemonade sipping Diana, nor did the red bikini bottom peeking out over the top of the brunette's shorts as she bends over to clean low on the car.

Ever since the bus ride home after their first away game, Diana had started to let her walls down when it came to Akko. She's admitted it to herself: she has a crush on the Japanese girl. But still, despite her holding strong to the notion that if she denies herself she will eventually get over the distractingly pleasant feelings, she finds herself, for the first time ever, willing to procrastinate her cut off from the girl in favor of allowing herself to enjoy the little things she does for 'just one day more' - for the last two weeks.

In a perfect world, she would see her classmate and teammate only as such, at least until she was no longer burdened by the responsibility her aunt refuses to pick up after her mother's passing. If she alone didn't have to worry about surpassing strangers' expectations and maintaining the respect owed to the Cavendish name, she might be more open to being more public with her feelings in general.

In that same perfect world, Akko would either outright tell her she is not interested OR romantically take her hands and spell out to her that the feeling is mutual. Diana doesn't care that she doesn't come from wealth, or that her grades are tragic, or that she is a girl who idolizes and aspires to be like a college softball leper. However, the rest of her world would.

They wouldn't see the sunshine in her eyes when she smiles, or the breathtaking force of will when she sets her mind to something. They wouldn't hear the sweet chimes in her laugh, know the warm genuine hold of her embrace, or feel the honest kind heartedness she has fallen head over heels for over the last few months. They would see the awkward young girl tarnishing the reputation her predecessors built with every inevitable misstep.

And even if the brunette was interested in her, Akko did not deserve to be so wrongfully judged by the eyes of those ignorant people.

But still, there is the sweet tempting song of "it might all be okay". And right now, as she watches the slip of red contrast with the pale skin of the brunette's lower back, that is the song that is playing loudly and clearly.

All her thoughts stray away from worst case scenario and towards the subject of her admiration. In this position, Akko's shorts leave very little to the imagination, however, if Diana was going to be honest, she wasn't really sure if her imagination could come up with something better. A dribble of soap trails down the brunette's scar spattered leg, changing its direction moving down and around a glistening, sculpted calf.

Diana eyes lose focus on all but the girl pushing herself up from the damp asphalt, now presenting a view of trickling soapy water travelling down her toned arms. Unbeknownst to her, she bites her bottom lip, completely unaware of the green-eyed redhead hovering next to her wearing a knowing smirk.

"Enjoying the view?"

The blonde is startled back to reality, squeezing her bottle of lemonade all over the place in the process.

"Damn girl… keep it in your pants." Amanda teases, lowering her voice. "Or are you finally shamelessly  _out_  now?"

Diana blanches at her words, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water as she prays she had not drawn anyone's attention.

After a few moments of silence, Amanda continues. "So… Akko, hm? Not bad... Was she really that nice to feel up?"

Diana's pale face suddenly fills with blood, abruptly changing her color to a bright red.

The redhead leans an arm on the soundlessly sputtering blonde's shoulder. "Cool it Cav…" she says with a relaxed smirk before her eyes shoot open with a dangerous idea. "Rather… Hey Akko!" She yells raising her hand to her cheek.

The girl spins around towards Amanda and Diana, a splatter of soap on her cheek and forehead. "Eh?"

"You're looking pretty hot! Wouldn't you say, Di?" Amanda turns towards the mortified blonde who had given up on trying to form words. "Let me cool ya down…"

In that moment a stream of water shoots from the end of the hose held in Amanda's hand and completely drenches the brunette.

"Eeeee! Amanda!" The brunette screeches once the stream of water had stopped. "I was! But come ooon!" She shakes her head like a dog, spraying water all over.

Diana watches, her jaw clenched with enough force to start to feel the beginning of a headache. Without her permission her eyes rove over the sopping wet girl. Her wet hair splays over her back and shoulders as her already tight tank top suctions to her body, allowing the movement of every muscle to be seen with high definition detail. Her eyes saw so much more, but before she could really process more of her dripping friend she forces herself to spin around and face the opposite direction.

_You perverse… what's wrong with you!? She is not a piece of meat! Bloody Amanda, I swear to god if she... Oh shit-_

Red-faced, she turns to the rest of the team. She is relieved to see a majority of them laughing at the wet, giggling brunette. However, as she feared, she does notice Hannah and Barbara, sporting matching concerned, yet humored expressions, watching her and the redhead.

Through the calmest expression gritted teeth could provide, Diana turns towards Amanda with a threat in her eyes. "May I please talk to you."

The redhead gulps, any teasing bravado whimpering away like a dog with its tail between its legs. "Wh-what's wrong with right here?"

Diana narrows her deadly glare with an involuntary flare of her nostrils. 

"Aright… fine." Amanda grumbles.

Diana looks towards Hannah and Barbara's concerned faces with a controlled mask and motions to them that she'll be right back. They motion back to her understanding yet unsure as they watch her walk around the side of the building with a hose-less Amanda.

Once she is sure they are out of ear range, Diana turns to the redhead with panic in her eyes and a hushed voice. "What are you doing?!"

"Watching you undress my friend with your eyes. My turn. When did that become a thing?" The redhead responds with an intrigued smile.

"There is no thing! No! Thing!" She sputters frantically. "Amanda please. You  _promised_  you wouldn't say anything!"

"Well yeah, about THE Diana Cavendish, dork ace of Luna Nova, discovering her not so 'straight forward' sexuality when she got a crush on little ol' me. And now you're moving on to my friends. For shame Dee Dee."

Diana looks at her frustratedly for a few seconds before averting her eyes down to her feet embarrassed with a troubled crease in her brow.

Amanda watches her and a guilty stone settles itself in her stomach.

_Ah shit. She's still making her way through Narnia._

"Hey, okay, geez. I'm just playing around. I won't say anything." She says nudging the blonde. "Nobody believes a word I say anyway."

Diana looks up at her and brings her hand up to squeeze the bridge of her nose, any anger fading away to complete embarrassment as she groans. "How... obvious... was I?"

"In checking out Akko's sweet ass?" She says raising a teasing brow as Diana turns bright pink and spins around to be sure no one is eavesdropping.

"That… is not-"

"Come 'ere." Amanda says as she moves the two of them a little further away from the rest of the group. "Not so obvious. Except for the lip bite. Kinda hot, kinda weird."

Diana continues to glow as Amanda seats herself in a shady patch of grass and leans herself against the wall. She closes her eyes and pats the spot next to her. "Sit on down, talk to me."

Diana takes one last look behind her to make sure no members of the team were coming to look for them before sitting down about a foot away from the redhead.

"Have you… said anything to anyone?" Amanda asks with a genuinely kind curiosity that surprised the blonde.

"No." She responds, eyes still on the ground...

"Not even Hannah or Barbara? You know they won't judge you. Hell, I'd be surprised if they weren't together by now."

"I-I can't, Amanda." She exhales quietly.

"Yeah, Yeah. Family, responsibility, bleh."

The two sit there quietly. Amanda fingers at a few blades of grass, pulling them up and tying them into knots as Diana stares into the field in the distance.

Never in a million years would Diana have thought that she would voluntarily sneak away from her duties in order to share top secret conversations with Amanda O'Neill, but here she is.

Despite having attended the same school for the last five years, her unlikely friendship with the troublemaker started on their travelling team two years prior.

It had started off innocently enough. The redhead was someone completely different from her. Brash, loud, unabashedly herself, and had stories to tell that were so outrageous and entertaining that one could never really be sure whether she was making them up or not. She was… attractive to say the least…physically and in her confident personality.

Not the brightest bulb, but perhaps Diana had a type.

Regardless, one day after practice, months after the intrigue of Amanda had begun, Diana found herself in the compromising predicament of coincidentally passing by the redhead as she stripped the sweaty uniform top off her body and stood airing herself out in only a sports bra and game pants.

Now, 14-year-old Amanda was not really much to look at, however to Diana, who until this point had never fully considered why she never had a crush on a boy, the redhead made her cheeks fill with fire and her mouth go arid. Evidently she also made the blonde stop mid stride and ogle because before she knew it, Amanda had struck a pose with a devilish smile, coyly waving her fingers at her.

Newly pubescent Diana stood there rooted in shock- of her thoughts, of what this  _girl_  was making her feel, and of the fact that the same shirtless girl was approaching her. She eventually felt her control kick back in and she ran away as fast as she could before Amanda could say a word.

Several awkward practices between the two later, Amanda came up to her privately after a game and convinced her to talk about what happened. To this day, Amanda is the only one who she has talked to over the matter.

Whatever it was that she saw when she first met Amanda eventually transformed into a strange kind of friendship. Yes, her attitude and rambunctious behavior were a great source of annoyance and exhaustion for the blonde, but her understanding had proved to be a comfort as Diana started coming to terms with herself.

The fleeting crush she experienced on Amanda had confused her. Initially she felt that the more she learned about the redhead, the less chemistry they seemed to have, which she rationalized as fine, it was something that could happen with any infatuation. However, there was a little part of her that poked at the idea of 'maybe it's just a phase'.

But this, what she's feeling with Akko… was so different. Since the first time she saw the brunette walk into biology class, something urged her to remember the girl's name when Finnelan had called it for attendance. She feels she knows Akko about as much as she knew Amanda by the time her attraction subsided, but she finds that with the brunette, the depth of her feelings continues to grow. She is special and Diana finds herself in the position of questioning her feelings while wanting nothing more than to feel more.

"As someone who knows what you're going through and has less than accepting folks... if you keep it bottled up, you're just gonna be miserable."

Blue eyes look towards the redhead as she considers the comment. "What's your excuse then? Last thing I heard, your preference was still up for debate."

The redhead shrugs her shoulders. "No reason really… I don't think I need to announce it. I mean, Conz and Jazzy know... and If I'm interested in a girl, best believe she's gonna know it. But for the rest of the world, the air of mystery strengthens the allure."

"Air of mystery?" Diana chuckles with a quirked eyebrow. "Right...and you say I'm obvious."

"Eh. Takes one to know one."

A minute or two passes in silence until Diana takes the initiative to rise from her seat. "Let's make our way back, we are expected to be working."

"Gnnnn!" Amanda protests with a grumble before crossing her legs and pushing herself up. "Whatever... Don't want them to think we're making out back here." She shudders with an exaggerated grimace causing the blonde to roll her eyes.

They only take a few steps before Amanda slows their pace. "So, what are you gonna do? Akko's a sweetheart, but I don't know if she swings this way."

"I-I never said anything about Akko, we are friends and I have no intention on doing anything. Any attraction I may have will eventually pass."

Amanda frowns, voice and eyes saturated in pity. "Not gonna lie Di, that's a kinda sad thing to look forward to."

The blonde looks to the ground biting the inside of her cheek.

"Listen, I'm not gonna push you. Tease ya a little, yeah, cause hey, it's me. But try to let yourself be you here. None of these guys are going to think of you differently. Shit, I'm like, ninety percent sure our coaches are mackin' behind the coach closet door in the locker room."

Amanda sees the corner of the blonde's mouth quirk into a small smile before she puts her hand on her shoulder and continues. "Look, I know you have your own stuff going on, but you don't have to hide yourself here. And if anybody does have a problem, they will experience a cleat up the ass. Now…" her eyes take on a mischievous glint, "as for Akko…"

Diana abruptly looks towards her with a tightened jaw.

"Everybody has a straight girl crush… it's like… a rite of passage. But ya never know. You've heard what they say about spaghetti."

Diana's face erupts with a blush as she shoves Amanda's arm and quickly begins walking away.

"I'm just sayin…" the redhead laughs. "She's looking awfully wet at the moment."

"Oh my god, please stop talking."

The two make their way back to the rest of the team where a new car has pulled up and Akko, who has mostly dried, comes running towards them.

"I was wondering where you guys went! Whatcha doing back there?" Akko asks apprehensively as she looks between the two.

Amanda speaks up rolling her eyes. "Getting my ear chewed off by vale' _dork_ 'torian here. Apparently wasting water is a crime now."

Diana straightens her back and narrows her eyes.

_I've got to give Amanda credit, she's always been quick to her feet._

"I merely feel that it's a bit immature to be spraying one another with hoses while we are expected to be working."

"Yeah, whatever, fun police. Anyway, what's up Akko? Ya looking for us?" The redhead says steering the conversation away.

_Was...she worried about me getting sprayed? No stop it Akko, she just said it was about playing around._

"Oh, um yeah! When we're done, we were all thinking about going to get lunch at the café around the corner from the park. Wanna join?" Akko asks, her eyes bouncing between the two girls as she tries not to stare at the blonde for too long.

_Pleasesayyespleasesayyespleasesayyes_

"It's the place with the doughnuts, right? I'm in." The redhead says folding her hands behind her head.

Diana watches as the brunette's hopeful red eyes hone in on her.

"It'll be fu~n" Akko sing songs with a pout in an attempt to convince her.

It works better than she could have ever imagined.

_I… suppose there's no harm._

"I don't believe I have any plans immediately afterward. So, I'd be happy to join."

"Great!" The brunette bursts before toning down her excitement. "I mean… that's...cool." She says rubbing the back of her neck. "It'll be more fun with all of us there!"

Amanda watches the interaction. Her eyes casually flit between the blonde's cracking mask and Akko's poor attempt at covering a strange display of embarrassment and excitement.

_Oh… this'll be interesting._


	13. Three Strikes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the car wash, the girls decide to have some team bonding time at the local Café. Confessions, realizations, and less than ideal circumstances run awry.

 

 

The fundraiser changes hands about six cars and four soap beards (Constanze, Mary, Akko, and an annoyed Sucy) later when Nelson arrives with the Varsity team. As the girls' hand off their buckets and sponges, Amanda takes the opportunity to 'accidentally' spray Nelson's feet before shoving the hose into the hands of one of the upperclassmen.

Despite Akko's persistent asking, both coaches decline their invitations to join them at the cafe. Ursula insists that she has assignments to grade and Croix says she is busy doing "old people stuff", leaving the pack of girls to gather their things and begin their walk to the café.

Despite their morning of socializing, the group continues down the sidewalk in a cacophony of dialogue. Hannah and Barbara, who had been flanking Diana since she stepped out from behind the side of the building with Amanda, are in conversation with the blonde, Avery, and Sarah over a project in their shared history class. Ahead of them, Akko pokes at her new sunburn as she walks with Sucy and Lotte. She hears the blonde speak up in the conversation behind her saying something about the material. She didn't really hear what she said, but as it had since their away game, her voice has taken high priority when it came to her selective hearing.

It was all so confusing, but at the same time she isn't really sure why she feels so confused. She likes spending what little time she does with the blonde, but it's a little different than it is with Sucy or Lotte.

She reasons it's because she's known them for longer and that since she sees Diana as a rival, spending time with a person she's actively trying to best may make her feel a little differently. Even if Diana was the worst rival ever because she's been so darn nice...

It's been increasingly aggravating coming to the realization that the blonde hasn't been seeing her as though she were a rival. Regardless, when the blonde is around she still feels as though she's standing below a spotlight ready to perform in front of an audience of a single set of blue eyes.

If that wasn't enough, since the bus ride the blonde had been on her mind, almost obsessively. She smelled lavender? Diana's deodorant. She sees a fancy SUV? Diana's fancy SUV. The color blue? Diana's eyes. Does crunches? Diana's abs when she elbow punched her. Static shock? When Diana took her pen back. And so on. It seemed like everything she does can be tied back to the other girl and it was beginning to frustrate her. No matter how much she tries to take her mind off the other girl she quickly finds her way right back into her thoughts.

And the dreams! While she hadn't had anymore that had her waking in a heartbeat frenzy, the blonde has become a regular cast member in even the weirdest of her dreams. She was a mouse in one, and what do you know, the blonde shows up as a weasel… so weird. She couldn't get away from her, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't look forward to her presence.

She even told Andrew and Frank about their (one sided) rivalry one day at the gym when the usual tactic of working out failed to distract her from thoughts of the other girl. Andrew and Frank shared a look before turning back to her with small smiles and the less than helpful advice of "not sure what to tell ya" and then proceeded to make her do scissor kicks.

She's been unsure on telling Lotte and Sucy because somehow Amanda will find out and the last thing she wants is for the redhead to make it weird. She loves Amanda, truly, and if she ever needed to bury a body she'd be the first person she'd go to, but the girl hasn't proven to be shy when it comes to joking around.

Despite her confusing feelings, the last few weeks have been great when it came to the blonde. Though they don't necessarily 'hang out' and Diana still gives her lectures on paying attention and not goofing around (though noticeably more light hearted), at least on her end, she considers the other girl to be a good friend.

Even in their last game after Akko accidentally let the bat fly from her hands during a swing, despite nearly concussing Amanda (Jasminka saved the day by plucking the bat from the air), instead of getting angry at her, the blonde offered to help her fix her batting stance. Though, this only encouraged further confusing feelings when Akko found mirroring the blonde to be too difficult, prompting Diana to move behind her and shift her into position  _manually._ The close proximity had gotten her mind off softball and onto the blonde's hesitant nudging of her elbows, shoulders, and legs.

_Stop thinking about that! Geez!_

She tears her ears away from the relaxing lilt of the voice of the girl behind her and tries to refocus on the conversation happening between Lotte and Sucy.

"So you're telling me… that there's an ENTIRE volume of your Night Fall book that focuses on what is  _essentially_  a giant acid trip."

"I wouldn't say it like that…"

Sucy looks at her with a squinted eye and raised brow.

"There are some….Alice in Wonderland tones to it, but Edgar needed to get into Arthur's subconscious to save him from the mental side effects of being stabbed by the Lycankill blade. It makes sense that there would be crazy things running through Arthur's mind at a time like that."

"Mmhmm…" The pink haired girl hums skeptically.

"Are you talking about volume 192?!" Barbara chirps as she abruptly pulls away from her group's conversation. "The part in the mirror room with all the memories was so powerful!"

"Wasn't it though?!" Lotte gushes. "And when Edgar was watching Arthur's memories of  _him_? I don't know if it was intentional, but THAT was the first time I started to see their change in chemistry."

"And it just solidified it when he made all those parallels with Belle. I'm usually not a fan of love triangles, but Arthur's feelings towards both Edgar and Belle are just so real!"

Akko didn't particularly care for the Night Fall series, it's nothing against the plot or anything, but there's just A LOT of words. Four months ago she attempted to read the first volume at Lotte's insistence but only made it to page 22 before giving up. She knows what happens because Lotte summarized it in an extraordinary amount of detail but still, it took too long to get to the good parts! Usually she finds her mind wander when the redheaded girl discusses her favorite stories with Barbara, however a part of this particular discussion pricked at her ears.

"You really don't see very much bisexual representation in books, but I think Annabel did a very good job of conveying the experience. That's why I think that she meant for the forest scene in 194 to be romantic because those thoughts Arthur was having were…" Lotte tapers off, her eyes growing wide as she is suddenly very aware of what she was saying. She pauses before taking a deciding breath. "...very… relatable in my experience." She quietly finishes, subconsciously wringing her hands.

Barbara's eyebrows shoot up high on her forehead as Sucy looks at her with a kind smile.

"Atta girl."The pink haired girl pats the redhead's back, earning a shy glance through large glasses.

"Wait...Lotte, are you…?" Barbara whispers before wrapping her in a quick one armed hug. "Ohh! Lotte!" she squeals quietly.

"Th-thank you… I didn't expect to let you know like that…" Lotte says with a bursting smile as Barbara lightly shakes her shoulder.

"Talking about Night Fall? I'd say it sounds just like you." Sucy says smiling as she winks her visible eye.

"I- I haven't really told anybody at school yet, but… I was sure you guys wouldn't think of me differently."

"Of course we wouldn't!" Barbara says with a beaming smile. "I'm so happy for you Lotte!"

Akko watches the scene unfolding in front of her and feels like she is completely out of the loop. She slides up to Sucy who looks at her in confusion. "What just happened?"

"What do you mean, 'what just happened'? Lotte just told us she's bi, you dolt." Sucy whispers, looking at the other girl confoundedly.

Akko knits her eyebrows in confusion. "Bi?"

Realization dawns on the three girls faces as they look at the genuinely puzzled brunette.

Sucy deadpans. "I don't know why I'm surprised."

"What?" Akko looks around embarrassed, clearly being judged by the pink and dark-haired girls. "I-I'm sorry Lotte… what does… that mean?"

"O-oh. Um…" Lotte starts hesitantly. "Well, um… for me it means I am attracted to both boys and girls."

_YOU CAN DO THAT?!_

Akko's eyes widen in astonishment. "I didn't know you can do that?! That's awesome…"

"Y-yeah… I… I suppose it is." Lotte says with a relieved smile to the sound of Sucy face-palming.

Akko throws her arms around her. "You know we love you no matter what!"

"T-thanks Akko… I-I'm sorry, c-can you not hug so tightly?"

"Oh! Sorry! Sorry!" Akko says sheepishly as she jumps away. "Wait so, how did you know? OH IS THERE SOMEBODY YOU LI-"

"Oh look there's the cafe!" Barbara points, loudly cutting her off as she sees Lotte's glasses begin to fog up from the heat coming off her cheeks.

The dark-haired girl shares a look with Sucy who sighs and starts to push Akko along towards the cafe.

Much to Lotte's relief, the conversation ends as the girls make their way into the warm toned cafe. Nearly giving the barista a heart attack, as a group, they get on line to decide on their orders and then proceed to push together several tables to sit at.

Sucy slides in next to Lotte separating her and the still very curious brunette. Directly across the table, Diana slides in after Hannah and Barbara and can only close her eyes to reel in her irritation as Amanda plops down next to her.

"I understand we had a moment, but why must this continue?" Diana whispers under her breath.

_Cause I'm Amanda O'Neill. Private investi'gay'tor._

"Oh… don't mind me… I just wanted to have a good view of the show."

"Whatever you're thinking of doing Amanda, PLEASE don't." Diana whispers through grit teeth.

"Oh, it's nothing really…" Amanda says as she brings her chocolate frosted donut to her lips. She begins licking it with an intentionally lewd gesture causing the blonde to look away with heated cheeks. "Just a little… observational experiment." She smirks with chocolate on her lips before throwing her arm over the blonde's shoulders.

Hannah and Barbara immediately take note of this and aggressively quirk their brows over to the blushing blonde with the redhead's arm draped across her.

_WHAT is going on THERE?! Diana and AMANDA?!_

They watch confused as the blonde lifts her hand to squeeze the bridge of her nose while the redhead starts toying with blonde hair.

"What do you think you're doing?" Diana quietly growls as she shoots a dagger filled glare at Amanda.

"Ya got somethin' in your hair." Amanda says at normal volume.

"Cut it out."

"Simmer down princess, I alllllllmost got it…" Amanda says as she watches the brunette across the table through her eyelashes. She sees Akko sitting there honing in on the two of them, stiffening as Amanda continues with her ministrations on the blonde's hair.

_Oh well then… that was faster than I thought it would be. Akko honey, that's gay._

Meanwhile on the other side of the table, Akko was completely unaware of the intense gaze she held on Amanda as she cozies up to Diana, in fact, the last thing she remembers is thinking about how to ask Lotte how she knew she liked girls as well as boys without making her feel uncomfortable. It seems now, all previous thoughts had been abandoned and were now all focused on the weird heavy feeling in her chest as she watches her two friends.

She watches as Amanda continues to twist her fingers through a light green strand of Diana's hair before her attention wanders towards blue eyes. Immediately Akko averts her gaze down to the chocolate croissant in front of her.

_What am I thinking? They're just friends… friends do that kinda thing. But… why do I feel so...jea-_

"Hey Akko," Jasminka asks after taking a bite from her strawberry frosted donut, tearing Akko from her thoughts. "Who are those cute college boys you work out with all the time at the gym?"

The rest of the girls at the table dramatically cease whatever conversation they have to look at Jasminka with befuddled expressions before turning to Akko with interest. Amanda stops her fingers in Diana's hair as the blonde tenses, her previous irritated expression now covered by a neutral mask. The redhead looks over to Akko with a surprised yet confused expression.

"You met some boys at the gym!?" Lotte gasps. "Why didn't you tell us? What are they like?!"

"Yeah. Spill, Akko." Avery says leaning forward, chin in her hand.

"Ah… eh…" Akko sputters as she resets her thoughts from fingers wrapped in blonde locks to the twelve sets of eyes now trained on her waiting with anticipation. "Th-they're just some guys who started spotting for me. They're pretty nice and they've been teaching me different workouts."

"Who are they? And why would they want to help you?" Sucy asks with a tint of protectiveness in her voice.

"Um… well, their names are Frank and Andrew and they play tennis at Appleton. And soccer...kinda. And… I kinda… tried lifting some weights andmaybeputtoomuchonandalmostkilledmyself but they offered to help me. And excuuuuse me…" she shoots a quick glance at Sucy and huffs. "I am a  _pleasure_ to be around!"

"What do they look like?" Lotte asks, eyes gleaming.

"Um… well… they're both really muscley," She says, kind of enjoying the attention of all the girls hanging on every word. "Frank has blonde hair and Andrew has dark hair and really green eyes."

"Wait… you said they play soccer!?" Blair says with wide eyes as she grabs Avery's shoulder, who looks back at her with a gasp and matching wide eyes.

As Avery and Blair try to get more information out of a recoiling Akko, Amanda worriedly watches Diana's neutral mask crease with a troubled brow.

_Of course… Why am I surprised? I've been taken by her charm… it's inevitable some boys would fall for the same..._

"-It's not like that! I don't… well, yeah, they're handsome and all… but they're just friends… I don't like them like that!" Akko says with a deep blush covering her features, her hands waving in refusal in front of her. In the process, she knocks over her vanilla iced coffee right onto her shirt. She squeals in surprise at the sudden icy impact.

"Good job, Akko." Sucy begins to snort as she scoots away from the, yet again, damp brunette.

"Ahhhhahahhh so cold!" Akko says as she desperately tries to pull her shirt away from her skin. "Oh maaaan!" She stands up wet, cold, and smelling of vanilla noting that, on the bright side, she hadn't made very much of a mess of the floor since most of the drink had landed on her. "Do you think they have a hand dryer in the bathroom?" She feels a tug at her side and sees Constanze pull out an over-sized spare t-shirt with the words 'WING KING' printed on its front from her bag.

"Really? You are the BEST Constanze!" Akko beams as she goes in for a hug before remembering why the change of clothing was being presented in the first place. She then takes the t-shirt with a 'thank you!' and makes a run towards the bathroom moving as to not drip everywhere.

"Told you that extra shirt would come in handy." Jasminka winks at the shorter girl who responds with a smile and a shrug.

Amanda discreetly leans in towards the blonde's ear and whispers. "Ey… I think you're in luck. You might actually have a chance with Blunder Woman."

Diana's mask, fallen from the event of the spilt coffee and the once more suctioned tank top of the brunette, settles itself back on her face as she turns to whisper a response. "I told you, there is nothing. Just leave it alone."

"C'mon Dee… if there's a possibility would you really reject it flat out?"

Hannah and Barbara watch as the two girls next to them whisper. Though they cannot hear what is being said they can see a red blush on the tips of Diana's ears as well as her clenched fists in her lap. Hannah and Barbara turn to each other and begin whispering among themselves.

"What is going on between those two?" Barbara says behind a cupped hand.

"Do you think Amanda's trying to hit on her?"

"Wait… do you think Amanda knows?"

"How would Amanda know? Why do you keep thinking Amanda would know these things? Besides, why would Diana tell  _her_  and not  _us_?"

"I don't know… but there's something going on…"

* * *

Meanwhile in the bathroom.

After locking the door, Akko peels her wet shirt over her head and just stands there in her bikini looking at her drastic sunburn in the mirror.

"Ahh man…" she says as she pokes at the hot red skin by her armpit. After a moment of prodding at her skin she slips Constanze's over-sized T-shirt over her prickling shoulders.

_Why does she even have a shirt this big? Whatever. Not gonna question. Take it. It's the best luck I'll have all day._

The hand dryer roars to life as she runs her damp tank top under the nozzle, causing the scent of vanilla to waft through the tiny restroom. With the consistent hum drowning out all other sounds, Akko is left to her thoughts as she waits for her stained shirt to dry.

_That was so embarrassing...of course I'd knock my drink all over myself… and right in front of…_

_I do this kind of stuff all the time. It was in front of everybody...Why do I care that it was in front of Diana?_

_And the thing with Amanda… was I… jealous of her? I've never felt like that when I see other people do that. But why would I be jealous? It's not like I…_

_Do I?_

_I mean… but I like boys… right?_

_But… Lotte..._

_Lotte said that she liked girl's AND boys... I didn't even know that could be a thing! What if I…?_

_But I didn't like other girls before… did I? Now that I think about it… maybe...Chariot kinda? No way! She's just really awesome and was really cool to...watch. Hmm._

_I mean… Diana's super nice, smart, and pretty… anybody would like her. So maybe I'm just overthinking this… but…_

Akko thinks back to her dream of the blonde the night of their first game and of the fluttering eyes and lips drawing closer together.

Crimson eyes shoot open and if her face wasn't already red from sunburn, her cheeks definitely made up for it.

_Oh my god._

_The dream... the jealousy...the OH MY GOD I ALMOST DIED WHILE I WAS LOOKING AT HER BUTT_

_I have a crush on Diana?!_

_But she's my rival! I can't think of her like that! Right?_

_No, no. Don't rush into thoughts like that…_

_She's just my friend that I really really admire and who just so happens to be a girl... And makes my heart beat faster…_

_Gnnnnnnn!_

A few minutes later, Akko heads back to the table with her stained tank top in hand and a brand-new reality of the nature of her friendship with Diana. As she approaches the table and sees her friends talking animatedly, she notices that the blonde is not among them. She scoots around the table and lowers herself into her seat as several eyes look at her new shirt with amusement. Before she gets the chance to ask where the blonde had gone, Diana returns to the table and places a cup in front of her.

"What's this?" Akko takes her eyes off the new vanilla iced coffee and looks up at her in surprise.

Diana's eyes flit away from Akko's and land on the cup in front of her as she responds. "Well, you barely had the chance to have your drink and I just so happened to have some spare money."

Taken back by the kind gesture, Akko finds herself momentarily at a loss for words "Th-that's so nice. Thank you, Diana."

_How could anybody NOT like this girl? Good job me, if I do like girls I totally have good taste!_

"It was no trouble." Diana says with a smile, a small blush creeping up her face as she notes just how adorable the over-sized shirt looks draping over the brunette.

_She's practically swimming in it._

"Though, I would recommend being a little more careful this time around." She says with a smart grin as a few other girls giggle.

"Yeah… I'm sure  _none_ of us want to see you sitting here in your bathing suit." Amanda teases as she discreetly pokes Diana's leg forcing the blonde to tame her expression.

"Hah Hah." Akko says sarcastically with a sunburn hidden blush as she crosses her arms, hitting the table. When she hears the ice rattle in her cup she gasps in panic before grabbing it and stabilizing it by its lid.

"Careful…" Sucy says already shielding herself from the potential splash zone.

"Heh heh… sorry." The brunette giggles nervously as she takes a sip so the cup wouldn't be so full.

The girls continue on with their conversations and fortunately for those sitting near Akko, no more drinks were spilled.

Hannah and Barbara watch a relatively lackluster argument develop beside them featuring Akko continually insisting on paying Diana back for the coffee while the blonde refuses the cash being shoved in her face. But more curiously, they also see Amanda watching the two girls as closely as they are.

"She's up to something…" Hannah whispers to Barbara.

"You said so yourself, she's got a spot-on gaydar."

"But Diana's acting weird too. One second you could practically hear her heart break when 'Akko' and 'college boys' were said in the same sentence and the next she's buying her a drink."

"That might be a little exaggerated…" Barbara says glancing towards the two girls who had ceased their argument as a discussion over biology homework drained the brunette's features of most of the fire it held before.

"Amanda said something to her…"

"Hey Gretchen Weiners. You and Karen talking shit about me?" Amanda says quirking her brow towards the two whispering girls.

"Mean Girls? Really?" Hannah deadpans.

"Been waiting to use it honestly..." the redhead smiles to herself, "

_Clap!_

"Nice wig Janice! What's it made of?!" Mary excitedly yells from further down the table.

"YOUR MOM'S CHEST HAIR!" Amanda yells back with a huge grin.

"Yes!" The movie buff cheers from the quote as she returns to the conversation she and an unfazed Blair had been in.

"But for real though…" Amanda says returning her attention as she rises from her seat and drapes herself over the backs of Hannah and Barbara's chairs. "What we talking about?"

"Just wondering what you're up to..." Hannah states accusingly.

"Oh me? Later?" Amanda gasps with faux astonishment and a teasing glint in her eye. "I'm not that kind of girl... But I'm sure if you ask around,  _someone_ would be up for a steamy game of three way with you."

Not dealing with the bullshit, the two girls groan with red faces before pushing their chairs out simultaneously- right into Amanda's gut. She lets out a wheeze as the rest of the table watches on in curiosity. Not that they didn't expect it, because God did they know it was coming, but more so to see where it was going to go. Sadly, they only see Hannah dragging the redhead by the forearm asking her for a few words as Barbara assures the others that they'll 'only be a minute' before following them through the front doors.

The rest of the table watches them go with a small chorus of 'oooh's before returning to their previous conversations. Just another day for the Luna Nova Witches.

"I hope they don't hurt her…" Diana comments before taking a sip of her tea.

"What did she say this time? I missed it." Akko says, craning her neck to try to catch a look at them outside as Diana chokes on her drink.

* * *

Once they get outside and the front doors close, Hannah and Barbara turn to face the redhead.

"Ah shit guys…" Amanda grumbles as she rubs where Hannah had just been grasping. "What's up with you three dragging me off today…"

"What's going on with you and Diana?" Hannah demands with a steely glare.

Amanda's eyebrows threaten to shoot up in surprise of being caught off guard. "I don't know what you're talking about, ginger. Ain't nothing different goin on with me and the princess."

_I promised I wouldn't say anything… Damn it... why didn't I think it was a bad idea to mess with her in front of her friends? Stupid. It's okay. I'm the queen of diversion. Let's get out of this._

"Are you hitting on her?" Barbara snaps with a gaze matching her girlfriend's.

Amanda's eyes widen.

_Feck… that was forward. They ain't playing around… C'mon think…_

"Oh hell no!" Amanda reacts a little too dramatically. "I don't even swing that way, man!"

This wipes Hannah and Barbara's intimidation faces clean and replaces them with complete shock.

"Wait… you're  _NOT GAY_ _?_ " Hannah blurts out. Immediately she flushes in embarrassment as she realizes that her thoughts just barreled out of her mouth.

Amanda struggles not to crack. "No way! I'm totally into _dick-_ " But before she can finish the sentence she breaks into a smile and starts laughing uncontrollably.

Hannah and Barbara look at each other in confusion as Amanda takes a breath and wipes the beginnings of tears from her eyes. "Pssh! Who am I kidding? I'm so gay I can't even say that with a straight face. Haaaaaahh. But still no… ain't nothing going on me with me and blondie."

"You we're looking like you were getting awfully close with her at the table." Hannah folds her arms as she attempts to school her expression.

"We're friends… I see you and Babsie do the same all the time..." she smirks.

Hannah's cheeks begin to take on a pink tint as she tries to come up with an excuse. "We-well-"

"Unless of course you're a little jealous…don't you worry, she's not really my type..." Amanda draws out the last word as she lifts her hand to Hannah's chin. Suddenly Barbara's hand shoots forward grabbing the redhead's arm.

"I don't care if you're the pitcher, I will break your wrist." She says with an irritated smile before letting go of the offending hand.

Amanda recoils her hand and holds it to her chest with a shred of fear. "Geez… noted. Some attack dog ya got th-" Amanda's eyes shoot wide with realization as her mouth slightly drops open. She looks intensely at Barbara and then to Hannah and back to Barbara again, a smile slowly growing on her face. "Are- are you two...?" She points between the two.

Now it was Hannah and Barbara's turn to recoil, slightly whip-lashed by Amanda's sudden change.

"Oh my god!" She yells excitedly. "You are! FINALLY! I've been waiting for you two to get together since first year of travelling!" She says as she claps the two ghostly pale girls on the shoulder. "Good for you guys! When did that happen?! I thought I noticed a lot less longing looks from across the locker room!"

_Diversion, successful. And Jazzy owes me two bucks. Damn I'm good._

"W-w-we, well a-" Hannah stutters. She knows she said she was willing to let people know that she and Barbara were together if it came up, but this is the first time it's actually been asked. And by Amanda? Like this? She didn't realize it would be so nerve wracking. Just then she feels Barbara's hand close around hers. She looks up into nervous teal eyes and watches a little half smile push on her cheek as she shrugs.

"Fine… yes… we're dating." Barbara blushes unable to quell the growing smile on her lips.

_Oh my gosh! I've never said it out loud before!_

"Yo! When? Oh! And I'm sorry about the jokes." The redhead apologizes genuinely. "I thought you two were still dancing around the elephant in the room. I'll let up."

"Wait, so you only wanted to embarrass us if we were insecure about it?" Hannah furrows her brow.

"I like to think of it as… mental encouragement."

"You are a terrible person." Barbara says before remembering that Amanda's words technically pushed her into having the relationship conversation with Hannah.

_Well shit…_

"Debatable." Amanda says stretching her arms above her head before turning to head back inside the cafe.

"Wait! Get back he-!" Hannah calls out, realizing her interrogation has been derailed.

"Don't worry! I won't tell anyone." Amanda says opening the door and turning to them with two fingers in a salute. "Gay scouts honor. Maaaan." She laughs before muttering to herself, "This has got to be the gayest Saturday I've ever been a part of."

She walks through the doors of the cafe as Hannah and Barbara are left outside trying to catch up with everything that just happened. On the plus side, they no longer think that Amanda is trying to court their friend, however they're positive  _something_ is going on between the two.

After taking a moment, the two follow her back into the cafe with a silent agreement that they were going to have to continue their conversation with her on the matter later.

"Hey…" Sarah calls across the table as the three return to the table. "I didn't realize this place is called Cafe Meridies'. You think Coach is related?"

* * *

When the girls decide to head back to their houses, the heat of the day had started to subside. After saying goodbye to the team, crimson eyes lingering on Diana as she walks away with Hannah and Barbara, Akko makes her way home alongside Lotte and Sucy as they continue their conversation from the cafe.

She had been keeping herself from asking Lotte anything about the liking girls AND boys thing at the cafe, and it seemed Sucy was fully aware of that fact. But now, much to Akko's frustration and much to Lotte's relief, Sucy carried on a conversation about astrological signs for the entire walk home. Since she was unable to ask Lotte, she formulated questions she planned on doing a little research on from the comfort of her home computer.

_I mean, I guess it makes perfect sense that it can happen. Why wouldn't somebody just be able to like anybody? But how come I never heard about it before?_

When Akko walks through the doors of her house she sees her mother with a letter in her hands.

"Hey Okaasan. Sorry I was out a little longer than I thought. We all went to the cafe down the street after the car wash and-" she stops when she takes a look at her mother looking back at her with a difficult to read expression. Worry? Disappointment? She holds the letter out to her daughter displaying the Luna Nova sigil at the top of the page.

"Eh?" Akko scrunches her face in confusion as she takes the paper and begins to read over it mumbling the words under her breath.

"Dear parent/guardian... blah blah blah...Atsuko Kagari has been placed on... ACADEMIC PROBATION?!"

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I maybe HEAVILY alluded to my Bar/Band fic…
> 
> SO! If you want to give it a read you can find it (part 1 and part 2) on my Tumblr (username : superevilbadguy) and search for 'bar/band au' in the tag search! It will eventually be put on here... eventually.
> 
> Three strikes… so many are (kinda) out.


	14. Ball Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the news of her academic probation, Akko is off the team until she can get her grades up. The first day proves studying is very difficult while distracted, however due to a twist of fate she may have found a perfect solution.

 

 

As a part of the conditions of Akko's academic probation, the brunette had been banned from participating in any extracurricular school activities or sports until she is able to get her grades up. So, come Monday afternoon, Akko sits on the bench in the dugout with a textbook in her lap, sulking.

Although she was not permitted to play or practice, she found a loophole and insisted that 'it never said she couldn't  _watch'_.

_Insisted_  is too mature a term… it was more like she begged Professor Ursula, promising that she wouldn't get in the way or say anything and that she didn't want to miss anything by the time she got back on the team. After a lot of sniffling and a face that could make a demon's heart break, Croix and Ursula allowed her to stay and watch under the condition that she bring her homework with her. Which, in retrospect, had not been Ursula's brightest idea since the girl is so easily distracted. Regardless, Akko plays the part well and inserts her nose into her book whenever either of the coaches look her way.

Internally, Akko is beyond frustrated. She had thought her classes had been going well! But to find out that she had been in the red for biology, history, AND mathematics leaves her wondering how on Earth she is going to be able to come back from her poor grades.

In comparison to the other two classes, Akko is actually pretty decent in mathematics. Despite rarely finishing her exams within the class period, she gets above average grades when she hands in her homework on time, which tragically, much to Professor Badcock's ire, is not very often. While she feels she can improve her math with some more practice problems and some dreaded time management, as she stares blankly at the history book in front of her, she despairs on her atrocious at best understanding and retention of the history and biology material.

_Gahhhh! I'm never gonna play college softball if I can't graduate high school! Come on Akko! Fffffoooooocuuuuuusssssss!_

_Ting_

_Ahhh! Stop looking up! Maybe being here was a bad idea!_

Her attention is drawn away once again as she sees Mary and Amanda run the bases while the infield carries out their play.

She watches Lotte run in to scoop up Mary's hit to left field before throwing it swiftly to Jasminka.

Meanwhile, Amanda needlessly slides into third base kicking up a cloud of dirt onto Hannah's leg. The third baseman looks down irritated at the grinning girl lounging in the dirt, one hand giving her a thumbs up while the other props up her helmeted head.

Hannah rolls her eyes as Amanda lifts her arms to be pulled up. The auburn-haired girl does not humor her.

When Akko had told her friends that she was essentially booted from the team because of her grades, she received a lot less sympathy from Sucy and Lotte than she expected.

~~~

"What do you expect?" Sucy says completely unsurprised. "You sleep in Badcock's, Finnelan doesn't like you, and you don't take notes in Pisces'."

"I can't understand Pisces! What kind of accent even IS that?!" Akko pouts. "And Finnelan's totally out to get me!"

"Maybe she wouldn't be if you actually paid attention and did your homework…"

"I do pay attention!" The brunette scoffs.

"Riiiiiight."

"What do you know? You're not even in my class! Hmph!"

"Akko, have you ever stayed after class and asked the professors for help?" Lotte asks fully knowledgeable of the answer.

The brunette grumbles. "No… But I'm busy after class and I don't even know what questions I have questions about! I kinda figure I'll just relearn it when I get home."

"And does that work?"

"Mmm…"

~~~

Akko kicks her feet in the dirt and looks back down to the heavy textbook in her lap.

_I guess Lotte mayyyy have had a tiny point… But I can't sit one on one with Finnelan! And what if I still can't understand Pisces' accent? That would be so embarrassing?!_

_Come on Akko. You have to do this for your dream. You have to get your grades up so you can get into college and play softball…_

It is then that Akko feels the bench shift under her.

"How are you doing over here?" Ursula's asks softly as she settles in the seat beside Akko.

"Oh, I'm doing fine." The brunette lies, forcing a smile as she looks away from the same textbook page she had been looking at for the last twenty minutes.

Ursula smiles back knowingly.

_Poor girl will never win a game of poker._

"What are you stuck on?" The assistant coach asks as she looks down to the textbook in her student's lap.

Akko's smile falters and she lets out a long groan. "Ahhhhhgh! There's just so much! I already don't like reading and this is all just so  _boring_!" She grabs a clump of pages and flips through them quickly before freezing with widened eyes. "N-not like the books in  _your_ class! Those books are super interesting!"

Ursula chuckles as she meets the brunette's embarrassed eyes. "No, I understand. They are both very different types of writing."

"Y-yeah." Akko clears her throat as she flips through the book to find her page.

"Let me tell you something." The blue haired woman says as she places her hands in her lap. "When I was in school, I wasn't a very good student. I had been focused on other things that I felt were more important, like softball and my friends." She says meeting her pupil's eyes. "I found myself in your exact position… in fact… now that I'm remembering, I think Finnelan was failing me as well…"

"Finnelan was a teacher when  _you_  were a student?!" Akko looks at her with eyebrows raised.

"That's correct. And if I'm going to be honest…" she leans in with a hand blocking her mouth from view. "The only thing different about her is her hair color."

The two giggle quietly before Ursula hushes and continues.

"Have you tried studying differently?"

"What do you mean?" The brunette asks pinching her brow.

"Well," Ursula says folding her hands in her lap. "For example, instead of reading the book and trying to memorize the words, try drawing doodles that remind you of the events or reading it out loud. It's not necessarily appropriate during class, but as supplementary studying you may find it helpful. Once Croix told me about there being different methods of learning I realized I remembered information stronger when there were graphics. Croix on the other hand could hear something once and have it committed to memory. Everyone is different, unfortunately within the school setting, some methods are focused on more than others."

Tapping her chin, Akko looks up at her in thought. "I mean, I guess I remember the biology experiments… mostly. Like if I can touch it or do something with it I can remember it better…"

"Okay, so maybe try… acting out the material yourself. Or retaking notes using color association. That was what got me through school."

Akko thinks a bit longer before meeting Ursula's eyes with a heartfelt smile. "You know, Professor. You're a really great teacher… I've never had one who's ever tried to help me like this before."

A swell of pride grew in Ursula's chest as she tried her best to hold back an overly grateful expression. "I just want to see my students succeed in whatever it is they wish to pursue. And with the right tools I know you can attain anything you reach for, Akko."

"Was it your dream to be a teacher?" Akko asks, her eyes swimming with interest.

A small pit of loss drops in Ursula's stomach as she becomes hyper aware of an itch on her leg. "Not initially, but I am truly happy that it's what I ended up doing."

"Where did you go to college?" The young girl asks curiously.

Ursula freezes as an imaginary alarm blares through her mind.

_Oh crap. I can't tell her I went to Polaris… she'll ask if I knew-_

"DIANA!" The two hear Hannah cry. As they turn their heads to the urgent yell they see Hannah run towards the blonde crumpled on the ground holding her left foot.

"Diana?" Ursula's eyes widen as she pushes herself off the bench and rushes towards the field. "What happened?" The assistant coach asks as Croix jogs over and carefully helps Diana right herself.

"Don't get up, let me see." Croix says as she elevates the blonde's foot.

Akko was up against the fence trying to see what was going on through the slowly building crowd watching on worriedly.

_Please be okay!_

"It's fine." Diana winces as Croix gently removes her cleat. "I stepped on it wrong and I think I just twisted my ankle. It's just-" she grits her teeth as Croix gently prods the swelling ankle. "-a little tender."

Croix takes another moment looking at the girl's foot before gently lowering it. "It doesn't look too serious. You may be right about a slight twist, but I want you to go to the nurse to get an ice pack on it. Do you think you can move?"

Diana nods her head as she pushes herself up on her hands keeping her foot off the ground.

"Here," Ursula reaches her hand out to pull Diana to her (foot). "Just take it slow…"

"I can help bring her in." Hannah says as she offers an arm of support as Diana stands tenderly and tests her foot on the ground.

"I'm fine Hannah, really." Diana smiles at her trying to mask the twinge of pain in an attempt to come off as reassuring.

"It's okay, you girls keep running practice." Ursula looks to Hannah with a small smile and then to the rest of the worried team. She then turns her attention to the girl in the dugout who is and will most likely be FAR from focused on her studies due to the current situation. "Akko! Would you help me walk Diana to the nurse?"

Akko jumps to attention. "O-oh! Yeah, yeah." She takes a moment debating her direction before haphazardly throwing her books into her bag, flinging it over her shoulder and running out onto the field.

Akko runs up to Ursula and looks over to Diana balancing on one foot using their coach for balance.

_Oh god, wait. I don't want to hurt her. What do I do?_

As Akko makes her way to her side while unsurely holding out her arms, Diana completely forgets about the pain in her throbbing ankle in favor of a dry-mouthed panic.

The brunette stands there with a conflicted expression mouth emitting an audible 'uhhh'.

_Just… put your arm around her… and hold her up. But like… her waist? Or like. Does she want me to hold her hand? I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING! PROFESSOR URSULA WHY?!_

_Okay Diana… just… put your arm over her shoulders. It's nothing intimate, it's simply just the easiest way to move on an injured foot. Okay… one… two… th- but what is she doing?_

_OH MY GOD I CAN'T HOLD HER LIKE THAT! WHY AM I EVEN THINKING ABOUT CARRYING HER BRIDAL STYLE? I CAN'T LIFT THAT MUCH! I mean, not that I think she's heavy, but I still… stop no! But what's not gonna be weird?! Why does it have to be DIANA?_

_It's really not that bad. I might be alright walking..._

The blonde walks forward and as she puts weight on her foot she stumbles forward with a shot of pain. In one swift motion, Diana finds the brunette tucked beneath her arm re-stabilizing her.

"Are you okay?" Akko asks, freshly knocked out of her thoughts and into instinctual action. Her worry filled eyes ease as Diana re-rights herself with a wince and adjusts her arm to rest more comfortably across Akko's shoulders.

"It's… a little more painful than I thought." She says as she balances on her good foot.

"Careful. Please don't push it." Ursula says as she loops her arm beneath Diana's other side and across her back. "Are you ready? Akko, you have her?"

Akko flushes at the question and manages to hum an affirmation as she looks straight down and moves her hand to secure the blonde's arm across her shoulders.

On their first step, Diana limps forward and Akko's hand absentmindedly flies to Diana's side to steady her. Diana blushes at the firm hand resting just above her hip (and their position as a whole, really) as she takes another careful step.

"I'll bring your stuff in, okay Diana?" Hannah calls after her. If she hadn't been so worried for her friend she would have absolutely had a smirk on her face as she watched Diana blush and avoid making eye contact with her support.

"We'll come see you after practice!" Barbara shouts.

The blonde smiles and looks over her shoulder to her friends, catching red eyes shift away as her gaze passes. "Th-thank you, girls. I'll see you after."

Sucy and Lotte wave to Akko as she leaves. In return Akko responds with a nod and a quick wave from the fingers holding Diana's arm in place.

"Alright ladies, let's get back to it!" Croix claps her hands as she watches Ursula and Akko walk Diana off the field. "Who wants to stand in at shortstop?"

* * *

On the walk back to the school, Ursula tries to pass the time with small talk, however, her company finds themselves distracted by their own thoughts— leaving her telling a story to two sets of half listening ears.

_Oh maaaaaaaaaan, should I move my hand? I mean I think it's helping her, but what if it's not and she's actually super uncomfortable about me touching her on the… oh god that's her hip isn't it? Ahhh! Come on Akko, it's totally okay. This is how you help people walk, stop making it… gay… or bi… or whatever the heck… even if you do like Diana in a heart thumpy way…_

Despite the sudden stress that accompanied the academic probation notice, Akko managed a little time between studying to look up her questions on bisexuality. Unfortunately, her search results yielded more inappropriate pictures and explicit websites than she had hoped for as she sat with her mother in the next room. After quickly closing the pages and erasing her internet history she decided that the definition Lotte provided gave her a fair enough understanding. Though she still had questions of factual and theoretical nature, she was sure Lotte would give her better answers than any of the 'hot bisexual singles in her area'. If only this was something that was being covered in one of her classes, she'd definitely get a good participation grade.

It's just been that ever since she heard that being able to like both boys and girls was a  _thing_ , the whole concept seemed to turn her thoughts and memories inside out and upside down. So many thoughts, especially ones she's had over the last few weeks, started to make more and more sense the more she thought about it. She wasn't afraid of the idea of liking girls, it was just a little different than how she's always seen herself. She always kind of pictured standing in a wedding dress opposite a handsome man in a suit, however now that she thinks a little more about it, a warmth also blossoms in her chest when she imagines herself falling to one knee and proposing to a girl. A blonde girl… with blue eyes that cycle through surprise and panic and finally fill with happy tears before taking Akko's face in her hands and...

_Stoooooop! Just because YOU'VE accepted that you MAYBE have a crush on her DOESN'T mean you can start… fantasizing about her like that! Look at her!_

She looks over to Diana who had been focusing very hard on moving with as little jostling of her leg as possible. From the corner of her eye, Akko watches the blonde's tight jaw and stilled eyes watching the ground.

_She looks like she's in so much pain! What's the matter with you? But would it hurt as bad… if I carried her bridal style…?_

Meanwhile in Diana's head:

_Stop stop stop stop. Ignore her smell, ignore her hands, ignore her… muscular shoulders. No! Stop it! For Christ's sake Diana, this is not okay. She's walking you to the nurse you hormonal disaster! Now is not the time to savor her proximity! I… I have been brought up better than this. Honestly, get it together! YOU are a CAVENDISH! This whole situation is humiliating._

Diana takes a breath as she limps forward. "Thank you for helping me to the nurse, Professor."

"There is no reason to thank me, Diana." Ursula says taken aback by the girl who sounds almost apologetic about getting an injury. "I'm just glad to hear that it doesn't look serious."

"And Akko..." The brunette turns her full attention to the blue eyes meeting hers. "I apologize for interrupting your studying."

"Oh? Don't worry about it!" Akko smiles at her as she pats the other girls arm draped around her neck. "I wasn't really getting much studying done anyway."

"Perhaps you would benefit from a less distracting environment?"

"But that's boring." Akko says with an utmost seriousness causing both Ursula and Diana to sweat drop.

"Alright, careful up the step, girls." Ursula says as she leads them through the doors at the side of the school.

Diana limps up the step noting Akko's natural hold on her tighten ever so slightly as she makes her way through the threshold.

_If she would continue holding me like this I may be tempted to prolong the appearance of this injury… NO! Stop with these thoughts! What is wrong with you!? Maybe Amanda is right… what was her term? Caven-whipped? How crude._

"Just a little further. Are you alright Diana? You look like it's hurting." Ursula asks, concerned eyes magnified by her glasses.

"O-oh. No, it's fine. Truly."

If she were completely honest, she hasn't really felt anything other than a dull throbbing from her foot since testing it at the field. Any expression that crossed her features had very minimal to do with her ankle, and much more to do with the short Asian girl she's leaning on.

Finally, they make their way to Nurse Woodward's office. As they enter, a woman with long teal tinted hair looks at them with emerald eyes. "Miss Diana? What happened? I would have expected Miss Kagari to be carried in here."

Akko pouts at the woman whom over the last few months she had become very close with. Due to the consistent addition of new scrapes and bruises to her body's collection, she has made more than several trips down to the tired woman. Though over the last few incidents, she believes the woman is starting to develop a soft spot for her. Sucy said that Akko should bring her own box of bandages because 'at some point she's going to start charging per bandaid'. She was sure it was a joke, but all the same she was tempted to pay the woman back in medical supplies.

"Diana says she had stepped on it wrong during practice." Ursula says. "Croix believes it could be a minor sprain."

"Well, come over and sake a seat and I'll take a look at it. Kagari, go grab an ice pack, you should know where I keep them by now."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Akko grumbles as she helps Professor Ursula lower Diana to the nurse's waiting cot. Once seated, Diana removes her arm from around Akko's shoulders instantly filling the brunette with a disappointing realization.

_Wait a minute! Ah man! I was jealous of Amanda for putting her arm around her, but I just had HER arm around ME- AND I WAS TOO WORRIED ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT I DIDN'T EVEN GET THE CHANCE TO ENJOY IT!_

Akko mentally screams at herself in frustration and walks away to grab an ice pack from the back refrigerator as Nurse Woodward rolls over a chair opposite Diana and carefully removes her sock.

Diana is thoroughly concerned by how much she finds herself affected by the brunette's absence. The smell of her citrus shampoo just barely lingers on her arm as it fades into the scent of antiseptic. Though her cheeks were warm, the rest of her body feels the chill of the loss of contact. She is suddenly brought out of her thoughts by the feeling of cold hands and a spike of pain by her ankle.

"Mmm… I agree with Meridies' diagnosis... It doesn't appear to be a bad sprain but the inflammation is a little more excessive than I like to see. Kagari! The ice! Did you get lost back there?" The older woman calls, followed by the sound of the ice pack clattering on the floor.

"I-I'm coming!" Akko sputters as she picks up the pack and scurries back into the main room. Her cheeks red and cold from the ice in a failed attempt to quell her blush.

"Tell me Diana, can you rotate your foot?"

Diana does as asked with slow movements and a wince from the dull pain. "Yes. Though there is slightly more pain rotating outwards."

"I see. That is good. It appears you have your full range of motion." The green-eyed woman nods before Akko hands her the ice pack and slides back to Ursula's side. She wraps the ice-cold press in a light towel and presses it to Diana's swollen ankle. "I don't believe it is a serious injury but, as I'm sure you're well aware, you should rest it for a couple of days. Put ice on it every four hours or so to decrease the swelling and keep the activity to a minimum at least until the end of the week."

Diana lets out a quiet yet clearly frustrated breath.

_I cannot believe this injury is going to hinder me so much as to require me to sit out for a week. If I hadn't let my eyes wander I wouldn't be in this situation…_

"I don't believe this will keep you from playing for very long, but you should take care of it so there is less risk of further injury. For now, stay here and ice your foot for a while." The nurse looks up at the other two women. "Will you be keeping Miss Cavendish company? I was just finishing prepping and cleaning before you came in."

"Oh...I… should be getting back to help Croix with the practice, but I can stay if you'd like." Ursula says earnestly.

"It's okay Coach Callistis, really. I'm sure she needs the assistance more than I do." Diana says with a small laugh.

Ursula merely shrugs her shoulders with a weak laugh.

_She's not wrong. And now that she's not there to refocus the practice, there's no telling how out of hand Amanda is going to be..._

"I'll stay!" Akko chirps raising her hand as though she were in class.

Diana looks at her surprised. It seemed a little out of character that someone who had begged to be at the practice would voluntarily miss it to stay in the nurse's office with her.

_Perhaps she finds it difficult to watch from the sidelines… I cannot say I blame her, I am not looking forward to sitting out of this week's game._

"Then make yourself useful. Here." Woodward says as she rises herself out of her seat, carefully keeping Diana's leg elevated, and holding out the ice pack towards Akko. "Help ice your teammate's foot."

_Wait, what?_ Runs through both girls' minds.

"Uh...um-"

"Keep it elevated. Come on hurry up." Woodward says waving her forward.

"I-o-okay." Akko forces her legs forward towards the seat. The old nurse looks at her impatiently and Diana watches her approach with an expression of mixed surprise and embarrassment.

_Oh God, what if I hurt her more?! What is Woodward thinking?_

It all seemed to move so fast. Before Diana knew it, Akko had her foot in her lap and was hesitantly attempting to place the ice pack back on her swollen ankle.

"Yes, just like that. Good. I will check in when I'm finished in the back." Woodward says as she turns away and heads to continue her cleaning. "Try not to hurt her...or yourself for that matter."

Red faced, Akko pouts and shoots a glance at the retreating woman before turning back to Diana with her eyes filled with worry. "Is this okay? Does it hurt?"

A little flustered by the position she is in, Diana manages to compose herself. "You are fine. It is a little painful, but the ice is helping."

She was honestly surprised by the gentle way the brunette tended to her foot. Yes, she may have rose tinted glasses when it comes to the girl, but her feelings did not blind her from her clumsy and at times dangerous nature. But the way she delicately cradles her foot, taking care not to let the ice pack knock into it haphazardly, Diana can't help but look to her with gratitude. "Thank you, Akko."

Red eyes lock onto genuine blue before a small blush and a smile appear on her face. "No problem!"

"Alright girls, I'm going to head back to the field but I'll be back here to check in once practice is over." Ursula says hesitantly.

"I'm sure we'll be fine Coach, thank you again." Diana assures her.

"Yeah! Don't worry Professor!" Akko chirps.

"Very well then." Ursula smiles before turning and leaving the two girls in the the nurse's office. "I will be back."

Once Ursula leaves, only the hum of the air conditioner and Woodward's rustling around in the back take over the sound of the room. The two girls sit quietly for a moment, Akko focusing on the ice pack and Diana's foot in her lap and the blonde trying to suffocate her blush at every accidental brush of the brunette's fingers on her foot.

"I do appreciate you staying. I know you would rather be studying or at practice…" In response the blonde hears a snort.

"Pshh nah. I couldn't really focus anyway, I didn't think it would stink so much to be stuck just watching practice." She laughs nervously before freezing. "Er...N-not that I don't like watching y-the team, but y'know… I wish I was out there instead."

Diana smiles with a quirk of her eyebrow. "I am certain I will feel the same."

"Hey, your knee's bleeding!" Suddenly Akko says in alarm.

"Hm?" Diana looks down, sure enough seeing a small blotch of red on her practice sweats. "I must've scraped it when I fell. Don't worry abo-"

"Hold up your leg for a second." Akko says as she lifts Diana's leg into the air by her calf. Diana obeys only because Akko is no longer there as she is running over to one of the cabinets by the nurse's desk. "Nurse Woodward! I'm grabbing a bandaid!"

"How did you manage to hurt yourself? You're just sitting there!" The woman's voice sounds from the next room followed by a sigh. "Go ahead! You know where they are!"

Akko huffs before grabbing a couple bandaids, a square of gauze, antibiotic cream, and some damp cotton off some sterile canisters on the counter top. She closes the cabinet with her forehead before running back over to her chair and instructing the blonde to lower her leg.

Diana watches in interest as Akko puckers her lips in focus as she carefully re-positions the blonde's foot to rest between her thighs. The coldness of her foot being reintroduced to the warmth of Akko's legs involuntarily causes her to clench her jaw as the heat begins to re-spread through the rest of her body.

Akko lays the ice pack over the blonde's ankle before pausing and staring down at her 'patient's' leg. Her eyes widen and a blush creeps up her neck before she turns to look up at the also blushing blonde.

"Would… you um... mind rolling up your pant leg?"

"Uh-um." Diana nods and carefully pulls up the leg of her sweatpants trying not to nudge her foot any further between the brunette's legs.

_Oh my god. Diana. Head. Out of gutter. NOW._

She pulls the fabric up over her kneecap with a sharp sting and uncovers a bloody scrape.

Meanwhile, Akko is unable to tear her eyes away from the newly exposed muscular calf resting in front of her. She clamps her lips shut as much as she can to not let drool stream out of her mouth.

_Not the time not the time NOT THE TIME! Holy crap, me! Was I always like this and am now only realizing it?!_

"Holy calf." The brunette garbles, swallowing the pool of saliva in her mouth as she tries to snap herself out of her leg induced trance. Diana breaks out of her own mental turmoil and stares confusedly at the girl still locked onto her leg.

"S-sorry?"

"Eh?!" Akko is successfully saved by the sound of the blonde's voice despite being bright red in the face. "I-I-I-said holy crap! Um… you're really...hurt! I will clean it!" Akko panics, practically throwing her arm at the wound.

Diana hisses at the sudden aggressive contact of the damp cotton stinging her leg, not necessarily because it was painful but because of the surprise of it all. When the sound hits Akko's ears she freezes and looks up with wide eyes.

"G-gommen! I'm sorry! I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Akko sputters out apologetically.

"It-it's fine, really. You just caught me off guard." Diana smiles through her wince in an attempt to put the brunette's worried expression at ease. "You've got an enthusiastic approach to medical care."

At that, Akko's expression turns sheepish. "Heh heh...I guess…" She takes a moment before clearing her throat and forcing her eyes to fix AWAY from the calf and onto the scrape in need of tending.

_Come on Akko, you can do this. You can't let this stupid LEG beat you. Let's go Nurse Akko!_

She stabilizes the leg holding one hand back behind the top of the blonde's calf causing Diana's mind to go fuzzy. "I'll be extra careful."

_You've. Got. This._

Determined, Akko slowly wipes the damp cotton around the edges of the wound. As she cleans the blood away she looks up to blue eyes watching her own. "Does it hurt?"

Diana blinks, she had been watching the girl's eyelashes and was unable to avert her staring quick enough. "Uh...Not at all."

_Why am I letting her do this? I can very well clean my own knee… But... she looks like she wants to do it…_

"Okay. Good." The room quiets as Akko dabs the cotton at her leg.

Diana just watches, praying that Akko can't sense her mixed emotions about the feeling of the brunette's hands on her leg. In a desperate attempt to make herself feel less awkward, she breaks the silence. "So… do you come here often?" Instantly she regrets her decision and blushes at the realization of her words.

_Bloody Christ. Really? You don't even mean to and you're using a pick-up line on her?_

"I-I mean you seem familiar with the office… and you and Nurse Woodward seem to be...acquainted."

Akko, meanwhile, seems to have missed the blonde's slip as she continues to try her damnedest to keep her fingers from purposefully tracing the toned calf in her hand. "Ah, um. Yeah… heh heh. I guess I kind of have a habit of getting hurt so I'm always in here getting patched up. I guess Nurse W. got tired of doing it so she kinda just lets me grab bandaids whenever."

"I-I see."

_Oh thank goodness. She didn't misunderstand._

Akko finishes cleaning the blood off the blonde's knee before admiring her handiwork (and a little of what is near it— as reward) and reaching for the tube of Neosporin.

Diana sits quietly as the brunette squirts a little of the antibacterial cream on a folded square of gauze and presses it gently over the torn skin.

_I never really expected her to be so...delicate. You continue to surprise me. I...I don't think I've been cared for like this since I fell off Mother's horse._

Akko tears open the bandage packaging and places it over the gauze effectively holding it in place.

_How could I forget? Mother had made up a story about platelet knights coming together and making a scab barrier to fight off a bacteria dragon while she bandaged my elbow. And then she had kissed the bandage saying that she was the princess thanking the knights for all their protection. Perhaps not the most creative story, but it distracted me from how badly it hurt._

Akko finishes pressing the second bandage over the gauze and smiles in triumph. "All better!"

Diana opens her mouth to thank her before the brunette's eyebrows knit together and look back down towards her knee.

"Wait a second-" Akko says leaning in towards her knee. Her breath tickles Diana's shin causing blue eyes to widen.

_O-oh my- is… is she about to? H-holy-_

Diana turns bright red as Akko pulls her head away from her knee. "I didn't realize there were tiny little unicorns on the bandaids! Look how cute!" She beams.

Diana stares slack jawed at the brunette for a moment.

_WHAT AM I THINKING?! Did I really think she was about to kiss my bandage? This… this has been a long day._

"A-ah I see." She says forcing her eyes down to the bandages, sure enough, seeing tiny rainbow unicorns adorning her knee. "Cute…"

"They must be new, I don't think I've seen them here before." Akko says as she pulls Diana's pant leg back down over her HIGHLY OFFENSIVE calf before adjusting the placement of the cold press on her ankle.

Still with a tint of pink on her cheeks Diana meets Akko's eyes. "That wasn't all necessary, but thank you… Akko. You are too kind."

"Oh! It's no problem!" She responds happily. "With the amount of time I'm in here, I'm practically an expert at bandaid...ing?" Akko cocks her head confused as to whether or not that was a verb and then promptly dismisses her worry on it. "I could totally be a nurse… that's just… a lot of hard homework…"

As the words leave her lips, Diana starts batting off the thought of Akko in a stereotypical nurse get up. Her family runs hospitals, she knows darn right well the nurses wear comfortable, conservative scrubs, yet…

"W-well, it is a very respectable profession… and homework is just studying. With enough studying the material would come naturally."

Akko shrugs "Eh, I dunno… I didn't really mean that  _seriously..._ I mean… I'm not even passing bio right now…" she says looking away embarrassed.

"Well," Diana ponders, all seriousness returning to her mind as she sees the frown on the brunette's face. She finds to no surprise that she doesn't like seeing that expression. "Perhaps...if it's not effective as it should be, maybe you should try adjusting how you've been studying for it?"

Akko looks back to her with a half smile. "That's What Professor Ursula said to do… But Professor Finnelan HATES me. You know! You see it! Why do you think she's so mean?"

Diana tries to hold back a smile as she tries to look sympathetically at the girl. She had noticed the biology teacher's watchful eye favor looking over towards the brunette's seat, though, more times than not, her scolding was completely founded. She didn't have the heart to say that to the brunette though...

"I… seriously doubt she  _hates_  you…"

"It doesn't really matter. Even if she doesn't  _hate_  me, she scares me and there's no way I'm staying after class to ask her questions. She'd probably just yell at me and tell me to read it myself."

"Or she would see you putting in effort and perhaps be willing to help you understand?"

"Maybe for you! I'm pretty sure if I stayed after class she'd call Principal Holbrooke in to make sure I'm not trying to pull a prank on her." The brunette then lowers her voice and leans in. "That's what Amanda did to get her phone number!"

The blonde lifts an eyebrow. "That is highly unlikely, but I see there is no way to sway you."

"Nope!" Akko says defiantly. "I'm just gonna have to figure out how to learn it my own way."

Blue eyes look the other girl over contemplatively.

_I suppose I could offer to tutor her? But is that just me trying to be closer to her? This is a horrible excuse to fulfill some ulterior motive. No… even if I could help her, I can't just continue feeding this crush when I expect it to go nowhere. It's not healthy._

Her lips purse as her eyes drop down towards the unicorn bandages applied with care.

_But… what if what Amanda had said could be realistic?_

Pieces of their conversations from Saturday repeat in her head-

' _I think you're in luck. You might actually have a chance…'_

' _If you keep it bottled up, you're just gonna be miserable...'_

' _If there's a possibility, would you really reject it flat out?'_

And the words the redhead said that prompted her to buy the brunette a new drink-

' _Even if she doesn't like you, which I doubt, she'd never dream of abandoning you if she found out. The knucklehead's got nothin' but love to give and deserves kindness, and if you want to be someone to give it to her just know she won't take it for granted. Give your big nerdy brain a break and do what your heart thinks.'_

_Do what my heart thinks... Since when have I started using Amanda's words as wisdom?_

_Though...I...suppose there wouldn't be anything truly wrong with offering help. Even if she wanted it, the assistance would benefit her and it's not like I would act on my feelings or ask of anything in return…_

She looks over towards the brunette's full backpack that was haphazardly thrown against the wall of the office.

_And it's not like I'm incompetent in the material. I've tutored other students before, I would be efficient in helping her. And it would only be until she gets back on the team…_

_And if perhaps Amanda is right..._

Her mind made up, Diana confidently looks towards the brunette who had started toying with the edges of the ice pack.

"Well, since it seems I will be unable to play for a while... if you would like, I could help you study when we would normally have practice."

"Wait. Really?" Akko questions, eyebrows at her hairline. She looks gratefully up at genuine blue eyes. "You'd do that for me? You don't even need to study though, you're like, top of the class."

_Not 'like'— I AM top of the class... But that's irrelevant..._

"One could always benefit from studying, besides, the best way to assure you know the material is to be able to teach it to someone else. I just figure it could be a more productive way to spend our time while being on the bench."

A bright smile lights up the brunette's face in turn causing a warmth to sprout in Diana's chest. It strikes her as a wonder as to how the ice pack at her foot hasn't completely turned to water at the amount of times her temperature has fluctuated since arriving.

Meanwhile, in Akko's head…

_Oh my god! SHE wants to spend time with ME? I mean she's probably just offering because she's so nice and wants to get some extra studying in, BUT SHE WANTS TO HELP ME? Whooooo whooooo okay, calm yourself Akko. It's totally not like a… is it a study date? No! Not a date. But I wonder if she'd want to maybe go get food or hang out when we're not studying. Would she even want to hang out if we weren't studying? Stop! Focus. Okay. Well, while I might still be a little distracted, there's definitely no one else who I'm sure could get me back on the team… and if maybe she wants to be better friends this would definitely be a good place to start. Okay Akko. Take a breath. Don't respond too excitedly. You're cool. You're gonna study with your friend. Your rival..._

"Only if it's okay with you! Thank you so much Diana!" Akko fails to apply her thoughts to her actions and explodes happily as she wraps her arms around the blonde's leg, more or less careful as to not hit the scrape or jostle Diana's foot.

She was unsuccessful. A thrum of pain shoots up Diana's leg but the blonde doesn't show it through the humored expression on her face.

"It is no problem. I am happy to help." She says smiling at the girl hugging her leg. "Would you like to start tomorrow during practice time?"

"Sure!" Akko says as she releases her embrace on Diana's leg. "Where do you want to do it? The dugout is kinda distracting…"

"I'm sure I can reserve a space in the library for tomorrow afternoon. Will that be alright?"

"Absolutely! It's a date!" Akko smiles before her eyes nearly pop out of her head.

_No Akko! Darnit! Why did I phrase it like that?! Not a date! NOT A DATE!_

Diana's smile twitches as she tries to hold back the blush in her cheeks.

**Diana's big nerdy brain** _**:** Diana, don't say it..._

**Diana's heart:** "It's a date."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ball four... get it? Heh... they went for a walk...


	15. Take Me Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Akko and Diana stress over preparations for their first study session. While they themselves may be taking the task seriously, a few of their friends decide to lend a hand in their own ways.

 

 

_It's not a date. It's not a date. It's just a phrase. It's not a date. It's not a date!_ Akko, buried in a biology textbook during her lunch period, continually reminds herself.

_Then. Why. Am. I. So. NERVOUS?!_

"Hey, Akko. You okay?" Lotte asks from beside her. "You've been holding your breath and your face is turning purple… are you… having trouble?"

Akko drops her head into the open textbook with a loud  _thud_ followed by an exasperated groan.

"Aaaaaaaaaghhhhhhh! Why can't I just be good at school!?" she muffles through the pages.

_So I didn't have to be put in this situation! God, why did I say yes?!_

"Why are you studying now? Don't you have a study date with Cavendish later during practice?" Amanda says just short of innocently.

"N-not a date!" Akko bursts with a slight blush, still obscured by the textbook. A majority of the table looks toward her curiously as Amanda holds back a giddy smirk. The brunette pulls her head off the pages with a grumble. "I just don't want to look like a  _complete_ idiot."

She had told her friends about Diana offering to help her study while she had to wait for her ankle to recover. Everyone, even Sucy seemed to think this was a good idea. Surprisingly, Amanda didn't make a wise crack at the blonde's expense, instead she just looked at her with her jaw dropped. It was a little weird, but she guesses that she couldn't come up with something snide enough.

Since she told her friends, she discovered a new stress fueled drive to studying, so lately she has found herself doing little but. She doesn't want to just show up and look like a complete lost cause… The blonde already knew she needed help with her studying, but still, she didn't want Diana, the girl she has developed annoying feelings for, to think she is stupid. However, despite her motivation, the book's material is just as boring as the last time she tried to read it.

"Good luck with  _that_." Sucy teases, cracking a smile. "This will be a first...I wonder if Diana's ever experienced failing as a tutor before…" Akko shoots her a glare.

"Oh stop it Sucy!" Lotte says nudging the pink haired girl. "I'm sure she doesn't think you're an idiot…"

"MMMMMMHHH!" She groans as she puts her face back into the book.

"Ah don't worry about it Akko, I'm sure studying with the queen nerd will get you back on the team in no time." Amanda claps her on the shoulder. "Besides, I'm sure she already took into account how big of a dumbass you are…"

"Hey!" The brunette muffles.

"She probably has  _special_ tutoring lessons planned for you." Amanda drawls, narrowing her eyes devilishly as she watches the brunette's ears suddenly take on a shade of red. "She's such a big dork I'm sure she's been thinking about it  _all night long_. You know… to be prepared…"

Jasminka and Constanze look at her with curious eyes to which she responds with a wink. They knew that look... Constanze's eyes open wide as Jasminka pauses a chip at her lips to raise her eyebrows. They both shift their eyes to the flustered brunette and questioningly look back to the redhead to which Amanda responds with a soundless shrug of her shoulders leaving them to spectate in silence.

Sucy and Lotte did not miss the silent exchange. Not really sure what the trouble triplets were so amused by, they look back to Akko who had just raised her blushing face so she could take a bite from a french fry on the tray next to her book.

"I'm sure if anyone can help you, it's Diana. Though, I didn't see her this morning… Are you sure she didn't stay home?" Lotte asks.

"Nah she's definitely here." Sucy says taking a bite of pizza. "Amanda, Jasminka and I saw her in culinary." She snickers. "Bold of you to think she'd miss school for something short of the apocalypse."

"Wait, you have culinary with her? I didn't know that." Akko looks at her surprised.

"Why would you need to know that?" Sucy looks at her, eyebrow slightly raised.

"Yeah, Ak... Something goin' on with you two?" Amanda pushes, smirking accusingly as Constanze and Jasminka lean in on the table.

"I-I...no." Akko says blushing nervously and scratching her arm. "I don't know. I didn't think she'd like cooking is all."

A higher power must have had pity on her while they watched her face cycle through shades of red as her friends grow more and more suspicious of her reaction, because for the first time ever Akko had never been so happy to hear the bell ring signaling the end of lunch.

The brunette jumps from the table with vigor and shoves her book into her bag with impressive speed. "I-I gotta run to Finnelan's! I um… need to try to ask her something about the homework from last night." She sputters unconvincingly as she speed walks away, leaving dust in her wake. "See ya later!"

She leaves the rest of her friends at the table looking after her in surprise as she passes through the cafeteria doors.

"That was… that was weird, right?" Sucy squints her eyes and looks between the rest of the members at the table.

Lotte shrugs her shoulders as Amanda bites her lip to keep herself from bursting out into laughter.

* * *

_I gotta try to go ask Finnelan a question on last night's homework?! WHAT WAS I THINKING?! THEY DIDN'T BUY THAT!_

Akko storms through the hallway rushing mindlessly towards Finnelan's classroom. If only she wasn't so horrified of how flustered she got in front of her friends, she would have laughed at the likeness of running into the maw of a hungry dragon, but she was on autopilot, focused on diluting her blush.

_I mean… what would be so bad if they knew I kinda liked her a little. We're all friends. BUT I TOTALLY FREAKED OUT ABOUT THE 'DATE' WORD! I mean, if it WAS a date, that would be cool but it's not and I don't want DIANA to think that I think it's a date and if Amanda knew that I kinda maybe was okay if it was a date SHE'D NEVER LET ME LIVE IT DOWN AND THEN I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO BE LIKE CHARIOT BECAUSE I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO LEAVE MY HOUSE AND-_

"Watch where you're going!"

She is suddenly knocked back by a firm body. Once she takes in her surroundings, she sees Hannah and Barbara holding books and standing in front of her like bouncers, presumably keeping her from careening straight into - _WHY IS DIANA ON CRUTCHES?!_

"Oh my god! I thought the nurse said it wasn't that bad!"

Any embarrassment disappears into worry as she quickly moves toward the conflicted looking blonde, only to be stopped by Hannah and Barbara's extended arms.

"Girls, really now. I'm fine, Akko." Diana says as she turns on her crutches.

"That doesn't look very fine!"

"While I do have a brace that is necessary, Hannah and Barbara  _insist_  that I have extra assistance…" she looks to the two clearly conveying how much she disagrees with their verdict.

"We want you to get better as soon as possible." Barbara says lowering her arm and putting her hands on her hips.

"And that means letting your foot rest and keeping walking  _disasters-_ " Hannah pointedly looks Akko in the eyes.

"Hey!" Akko puffs her cheeks angrily.

"-from accidentally hurting you."

"I'm not gonna hurt her!"

"Girls, please." Diana says softly putting a hand on Hannah's shoulder. "Hannah, Barbara, I genuinely appreciate the sentiment, but I promise you I really am alright. I believe I am capable of taking care of a twisted ankle."

Hannah and Barbara look at her sheepishly. It's  _almost_  like they forgot their friend is following in the footsteps of her family of doctors.

"And Akko." Diana says looking to the girl sticking her tongue out at Hannah and Barbara while they have their heads turned. "Your concern is kind, but there is no need to worry."

"At least use the crutches for the rest of the day." Barbara pleads. "Just in case… you know… Give your foot a couple more hours of rest."

Diana sighs, tired. "Very well…I suppose it would be cumbersome to carry them alongside books for the rest of the day anyway."

"Good!" The two girls smile. "Here." Hannah and Barbara shove the belongings they were holding for Diana into a wide-eyed Akko's arms.

"We have to get going to Pisces' class. You don't mind helping Diana to her desk, right Akko?" Hannah says as she looks at her with a glint in her eye.

"U-uh no. Of course, not…" Akko says quietly processing Hannah's expression as she tries to keep the slight mountain of books from tumbling out of her hands.

_Oh my god. SHE IS A MIND READER! SHE KNOWS! HOW DOES SHE KNOW?! SHE KNEW BEFORE I KNEW!_

No, Hannah didn't really know, nor is she a mind reader. What she DOES know however, is that in high school rom-coms, couples carry each other's books, and she wanted Diana to get in the right mindset before her and Akko's "study"  **date**  tonight. Yeah, yeah, Akko's failing school, and realistically, Diana is the best person to tutor her, but the moment Hannah heard that Diana  _offered_  she started concocting a plan so that Akko would  _have_  to carry her books. She and Barbara had been waiting all day for this set up to come into play and despite their little act as Akko approached, they had never been happier to see the brunette charge towards them.

"Well, I guess we'll see you two after practice." Barbara chimes. "Have fun  _studying_."

And with that, Hannah and Barbara turn on their heels and disappear into the student filled hallway.

Akko internally screams, not really sure of what to make of what just happened.

_They didn't mean it like that! Right? Right? There's no way._

Meanwhile, Diana seems to be missing the cue to see this as romantic. Instead she watches worriedly as Akko comes close to dropping a few of the books in her arms. "Here, I can carry a few of th-"

"No! No, it's okay. I can get them for you." Akko smiles reassuringly as she finally steadies the stack in her hands. "This is nothing."

"Are you sure? I really can just carry these." The blonde says as she lowers her crutches and stands on both feet. She taps her injured foot, steady in its brace, on the ground a few times just to prove she's not as injured as she's been made to look.

"No, I've got them. You heard Hannah and Barbara…" Akko says as she begins to feel her muscles strain from the books. "W-we should head to class though!"

Seeing the brunette's arm's shake with her books, Diana feels guilty. "We should. Thank you Akko." She says as she slips the padded crutches up under her arms to appease her friend. "I really don't mind taking a few if your arms begin to get tired."

"Nope! No problems here!" Akko says heaving the books up to get a better grip. "I've been going to the gym, and since I can't go to practice this will be my mini workout." She grins with gritted teeth.

"Very well then." Diana says, guilty still. "That is very sweet of you..."

Fortunately, they nearly collided only a few doors down from Finnelan's classroom, so the slight high of being called "sweet" powers Akko forward with a giddy strength only needed to last her the short distance. Once they get to the classroom, the brunette drops the textbooks onto Diana's desktop and feels her arms begin to loosen from their locked flex. Diana hobbles to her desk and takes a seat before taking some of the books and moving them beneath her seat.

"Thank you again, Akko. I do appreciate it." The blonde looks up to the other girl's crimson eyes. "I am sorry Hannah and Barbara  _literally_  threw all this on you." She says gesturing to the books. "I'm not sure what's come over them."

Akko looks down meeting blue. A shy smile makes its way across her lips as she looks away and scratches the back of her head. "Ah, it was nothing… it's the least I can do for you helping me study. Why do you have so many books with you anyway?"

"It's all the study material we're going to cover this afternoon." Diana says looking down at one of her hardcovers.

Akko's eyes widen as her jaw goes slack.

_I… I don't think I've even read that many words in my entire life._

She then hears a small laugh come from the blonde. "That was a joke, I'm sorry." She says, humored at the brunette's expression. "Hannah and Barbara were adamant that they carry all my books so we wouldn't have to backtrack to the lockers between class periods."

"O-oh. I guess that makes sense."

"I promise, I'll only have you read Pisces advanced class readings if you want to. Though I believe your understanding of biology is a bit more pressing." Diana smiles before turning serious. "The second unit exam is in two weeks, how much since the first exam do you remember?"

Akko stares back at her, completely lost, everything she had been studying since yesterday now absent from her mind. "Uuuhhhhhm…. Telophase has cleavage?" She smiles awkwardly.

Diana looks at her with a sigh. "I suppose the beginning is not a bad place to start."

* * *

As Finnelan and the rest of the class file into the classroom, Akko returns to her seat earning a curious look from the old woman. Their professor's eyes shift to Diana just as curiously before turning to the board and beginning her lesson.

During lecture, while still taking immaculate notes, Diana finds her mind drifting. While she feels she had been professional and platonic enough during her and Akko's run-in in the hallway, she was entirely mortified of Hannah and Barbara's insinuations. She had to play ignorant of her friends' stressed words and of the heat rising in her chest at Akko's concern at the time, but now her worry of how her friends know-  _they must know… why else would they have behaved as they did? Though I will admit, having Akko carry my books by forcing me on crutches is clever…-_ plagues the forefront of her mind.

_Could Amanda have said something to them? Why would Amanda say something to them? They do seem to have some type of relationship with her I am not privy to if their time at the coffee shop has anything to prove. I don't think she would say anything to them after all this time though… would she? Though she did seem… enthusiastic... over her misunderstanding earlier..._

_~~~-_ **A few class periods earlier-**

"I DIDN'T THINK YOU HAD IT IN YOU CAV!" Amanda whispers shaking the blonde by the shoulders as the former struggles to pour sugar into a meringue mix without getting it all over the counter.

"I don't believe I know what you're talking about…" Diana looks up at the whiteboard Lukic is writing the next step of the recipe on.

While to some students, it was strange that the kooky chemistry teacher had a penchant for culinary arts, it was well known that Lukic had a bestselling cookbook titled 'Cupcakes and Chemists' where she refers to the act of baking as 'edible chemistry'.

"If you insist on being my partner in this, can you pass the-"

"Asking Akko out on a  _study_ date? So what's the plan? You gonna wine and dine her? Or will you do the dining and make her do the whi- ow!" Amanda is cut off by the foot of a crutch slamming into her toes.

"Do you ever think before you speak?" She says cold and quietly. "Can you hand me the-"

"Well, I don't know what  _you_  consider appropriate for a first date."

"It is not a-!" Diana growls before lowering her voice further to make sure no one could hear her. "It's not a date. I am helping her study so she can get back onto the softball team, okay? Yes, I may be acting a little selfish in that I am looking forward to her company, but that is the extent to what I will be gaining. Now can you PLEASE pass me the whisk!"

Amanda looks at her with an immovable smirk as she hands the blonde a potato masher, causing Diana to aggravatedly set down her bowl and grab the whisk herself.

"I'm proud of you. My little Diana Gayvendish is growing up and asking girls to study biology with her."

"You are insufferable." She starts whipping the meringue as she watches the professor's demonstration.

"Don't make it too boring though. If she already likes you, one too many times saying  _meh-"_ she stumbles on the word with a sour expression, " _meh-blublah blobblangabla-"_

"Medulla oblongata."

"-sure. Can ruin the whole mood."

"Well, being that there is no mood to ruin, I believe we will be fine with the brain anatomy unit. Shouldn't you be getting back to Jasminka? She's doing your whole assignment."

"Nah, she's good. She's too nice to say it, but I know I get in her way." She says as she looks over to said teammate and Sucy comparing their stunning whipped toppings.

"You don't say..." 

"Besides, with Verde absent, Lukic is fine with me lending an extra hand to an injured classmate."

"Fine." Diana sighs in defeat. "If you must, then can you please be a little quieter?"

"Ahh, so you want to keep it a secret because you  _DO_ kinda see it as a date!"

"I did not- arggh…"

"Don't you worry little miss witch  _still_  lyin' in the wardrobe, your secret's safe with me. But if Akko spills any juicy details there are no promises that the rest of our friends will be as courteous." Amanda stretches right in front of Diana, dipping her finger into the stiffening mixture in the bowl. She pops her finger into her mouth with an approving hum. "Say, you still haven't said anything to Hannah and Barbara right? Have they come and… I don't know… mentioned anything... relevant?

"No… why? Did  _you_  say something?" Diana stops whisking and says with a glare.

"Ahh… no no… just curious…"

"Amanda… what?"

"Oh yeah? Jas?" She says in a mock loud voice not at all pulling Jasminka out of her recipe. "Sure I'll be right there! Sorry Dee, gotta gooo-"

Diana didn't even get the chance to put the bowl down to try to grab her before she was back at her own table.

~~~

Diana turns a page of her book continuing her notes as Professor Finnelan carries on her lecture.

_I doubt she would have shared that with them, but what was that about? Could...they have brought it up to her? But I've been careful…_

The rest of the class went by relatively quickly, though Diana was more or less lost in thought, she was already familiar with the material from reading it beforehand. At the end of the lesson Akko offers to carry her books to her last class since neither Hannah nor Barbara were around. Despite Diana's protesting, Akko insists saying that Professor Ursula wouldn't mind if she were a minute or two late.

Not really in the position to refuse the help, (and maybe now finding charm in the cliché of book carrying now that the responsibility is voluntary and not thrown onto the other girl so haphazardly) Diana ultimately accepts under the condition that Akko let her carry a few of the textbooks in her bag. Akko didn't want to admit it, but it definitely made the stack in her hands more manageable.

On their walk to her final class, Diana's stressful thoughts of Hannah and Barbara's possible knowledge takes a backseat to the sound of Akko trying to recite what she remembers from today's lesson with Finnelan. The blonde is happy to hear that the brunette is trying despite mixing up half the vocabulary. She makes a mental note to make that a focus of today's session.

After helping Diana get settled into her Pre-Calculus class with Professor Badcock, Akko bids her farewell with a cheery "see you after class!" and runs down the hallway to her own classroom. As Badcock sighs and the rest of the class watches in amusement as Akko sprints out of the classroom, Diana hides a smile behind her hands as she listens to the smack of her shoes fade down the hallway.

_That girl…_

* * *

_How is it possible that all her books even smell like her?!_ Akko thinks as she charges down the hallway, the smell of the other girl still lingering on her clothes.  _Like, do her books smell like her or does she smell like her books?_

Akko turns the corner, for a moment she feels her foot skid before straightening herself out and continuing on her way. She really couldn't be late again… she may have lied to Diana when she said Professor Ursula would be alright with her being a few minutes late. Normally the blue haired English teacher wouldn't mind a little tardiness, however, today was the day Principal Holbrooke was going to be sitting in on her lesson. Being a new teacher and all, she was subject to a semi-impromptu evaluation and she asked that her class be on time for today's lesson. She didn't want to get her favorite teacher in trouble, but she also really wanted to help Diana with her books, so she acceptingly resigns to sprinting until she reaches the classroom. As the bell rings she swings around the threshold of the door, nearly bowling into the Principal.

"Ah? Ah! Principal Holbrooke! S-sorry about that!"

"It's no trouble Miss Kagari." The old woman looks up to her with a genuinely kind smile. "I'm glad to see you taking attendance seriously! But do be careful about running in the hallway. I've seen the janitorial staff doing the floors at inopportune times between class periods."

"Sure thing Principal Holbrooke! Thank you." The brunette smiles sheepishly.

"Very good. Now, best get to your seat. Enjoy your class, dear."

"I always do!" Akko says expressively as she looks over to her favorite Professor who visibly sweat drops. "Professor Ur-Callistis is the best. She's super nice and makes even boring books interesting."

Ursula blushes, silently suppressing the urge to smack her forehead as she watches her student attempt to promote her using grand arm gestures.

Once Akko finishes her praise she turns to walk to her seat and gives a thoroughly embarrassed Ursula an exaggerated wink.

_So… does that wink mean she_ _ does _ _...or_ _ doesn't _ _see me as a good teacher?_

As Akko takes her seat, Ursula clears her throat, setting her embarrassment aside, and begins her lesson on poetry. While a lot of the class is on their best behavior, there are still a few grumbles around the room (namely Amanda and Sucy) about having been told that their exercise of the day is to write a poem. However, their grumbles turn into devilish smiles the moment Professor Ursula clarifies that they will be put into groups for a collaborative poetry project. When Ursula told them to break off into groups, Akko wasn't given the chance to push out her seat before Amanda, Lotte, and Sucy were flanking her.

She wouldn't have grouped up with anyone else, but their enthusiasm had her on edge especially because of how she left them at the lunch table.

"H-hey guys! You moved fast."

"Or maybe you're just movin slow, my friend." Amanda says wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Whaddya say we get working on this poetry thing huh?"

To Akko's dismay, the class period dragged on. Normally she loved the chance to work in a group with her friends, however for this particular project, the whole experience was exhausting.

"What rhymes with 'not a date'?"

"Amanda..." The brunette warns.

"That doesn't rhyme." Sucy states monotonously.

"I know!" Amanda bangs her fist on the desk. "Masturb-"

"No!" Lotte yells, hitting the grinning redhead in the shoulder with her notebook.

"Come on! Let's be serious here!" Akko clutches her pencil, banging her reddened face on the desk in front of her. "I'm already failing three classes!"

Lotte recoils from the dramatic face plant beside her. "Are...you oka-"

"Didn't think I'd see the day Akko took her classwork seriously…" Amanda says as she lifts Akko's head by her ponytail, revealing glaring red eyes and a too adorable to be threatening pout. "It's actually a little disappointing…"

"Guess Diana's been rubbing off on you…" Sucy snickers, entertained by the newfound reactions Akko goes through at the mention of the blonde.

"I just want to play softball! And unlike  _you_  guys,  _she's_ at least trying to help me get back on the team!"

"Doesn't that strike you as a little funny?" Sucy asks.

"What do you mean?"

"That she offered to help you."

"Not really. We're in the same class. Besides, we're friends, I think."

"That may be true, but Diana doesn't usually offer… she's normally the one being asked for help."

"Well, maybe she's just being nice… she's not able to play either, so…"

"Maybe you're right. The ice queen does seem to be coming out of her shell more." Amanda shrugs her shoulders and looks 'innocently' over to Akko. "Wonder what coulda' made that nerd decide to take the stick out of her ass."

"Alright class! I will give you ten more minutes and then I will have a representative from each group come up and present your poetry at the front of the class. Let me know if you have any questions." Ursula announces as she makes her way around the room checking the progress of her students.

"Aren't you and Diana friends?" Akko questions the redhead rolling her pencil between her fingers.

"Hm?" Amanda looks up with a curious eye. "I guess… We go back. Why?"

"I don't know, the way you talk about her doesn't seem like you like her very much."

"Whaddya mean? I make fun of everybody."

"That's true…"

"We really should get working on this poem." Lotte says tapping her pencil on the page of her notebook, urgency starting to set in. "How about we write about time travel…?"

The rest of the allotted time they actually buckle down to work on their project. Despite a few off topic and inappropriate interjections, they complete a (mediocre at best) poem about flying. They decide on Lotte to be their representative because Amanda promised she would start ad-libbing, Akko was mispronouncing the words on the read through, and Sucy merely scowled at being asked if she wanted to read it.

At last, the bell rings signaling the end of class. Professor Ursula dismisses the class as Principal Holbrooke thanks them for letting her sit in on their lesson and wishes them a good afternoon. She then turns to the English teacher with a smile and begins happily chatting.

"I guess you guys go have fun at practice." Akko smiles with less mirth than normal as the four girls walk out into the hallway.

"You'll be back in no time! Don't you worry!" Lotte says comfortingly patting Akko's shoulder as Sucy smiles and zips up the backpack the brunette had left half open.

"Try not to embarrass yourself."

"Hah Hah." The brunette says rolling her eyes to the very real fear that had been plaguing her mind for the last 23 hours.

"Let us know when you're done studying!" Lotte says as the three girls begin making their way down the hallway. "We'll see you after practice!"

"Will do! Good luck you guys!" The brunette yells waving after them.

"Have fun on your date!" Amanda yells back with a wink, eliciting a muffled snort from Sucy as Akko's face takes on a pink hue as she runs off down the hallway.

She runs into the bathroom, taking deep breaths to calm her giddy nerves and to get Amanda's voice out of her head.

_It's just studying. We're friends and she offered her help because we're_ _ friends _ _. She's just nice like that._

She straightens her back and takes in another deep breath as she looks at herself in the mirror.

"Oh man!" She exhales nervously, completely losing her composure, "I need another minute."

* * *

Diana sits at a table in the corner of the library with textbooks and two sealed cups of tea in front of her.

_Maybe I shouldn't have bought her a drink… but she did help me carry my books. Even though, she was kind of forced to. It's no big deal. Perhaps it will help her focus._

The library remained quiet for a while, the only sound being the tip of her pencil scribbling a rough study plan on a piece of notepaper. Based on what she had talked about with the brunette, there was a lot of material to cover, however, she did not believe the issue is retention as much as it is recollection. So, her hope was to work on finding a way to help the girl associate certain aspects of the material with things that may come to her mind more easily.

Thinking of Akko as a student who needs help with studying was much MUCH easier on her mind. She had tutored many classmates before, and while she wouldn't say she was the best at it, she was easily able to get her mind in it's role. Her mind was clear thinking about the alleles and chromatids, but she feared that the moment Akko steps through the door, crimson eyes would cloud her mind.

_She just needs help. Even if she was interested… in me… now is not the right time. She's failing three classes. Right now she is student first, teammate second, and anything else after. Now focus, I am a Cavendish and I will not allow myself to let her down._

Lost in her inner dialogue, she doesn't hear the library door open nor does she hear the footsteps approaching her table. Only when she hears a voice does she look up from her scribbling.

"Oh! Hey! I guess we had the same idea!" Akko says smiling, carrying her books under her arms and holding up two cups of coffee from the school store.

Diana looks up from her notes in surprise at the sound of the brunette's voice. Her eyes soften as she sees the other girl's bright smile. "It seems we have. Would you like help with that?"

"Please!" Akko pleads as she hands the cups to Diana desperately trying not to drop the textbooks under her arms. Once drink free, she lets her books down gently on the table before taking a seat across from the blonde. "I wasn't sure if you would prefer vanilla or hazelnut so I got both. You can choose which one you'd like and I'll have the other."

"Thank you, Akko." She says with a smile before pushing one of the cups she had bought towards the brunette. "I had just brought some tea. Don't feel you need to drink it if you don't care for it, it's just something that I find helps me stay in focus. It's a thank you for assisting me with my books earlier."

"Oh! You didn't have to do that! I'm happy to help! But thank you." Akko says raising the cup to her lips. The smell of the tea wafts into her nose, instantly making her cheeks flush.

_No way I can focus now! It smells just like her! And her books!_

"Is there something the matter?" Diana looks questioningly at the frozen facial expression on the brunette.

Akko's eyes shift over to her, reorienting herself after getting lost in the lavender scented tea. "N-nope!" She says lowering the cup and waving at the top with her hand. "J-just a little hot is all. Heh heh"

"I see. Alright then," Diana takes a deep inhale of the warm mixed scent of coffee and tea filling the air before placing her hands on her notebook and looking up at the red eyes in front of her, "Shall we begin?"

* * *

Well, it wasn't a date, but it wasn't bad.

When Diana meant studying, she really meant studying. While Akko did wish there was a little more opportunity for the two of them to get to know each other better, she found when she was assisting Diana in carrying her books back to the locker room to meet up with their friends, she was able to remember a whole lot more about her biology class than she had when she walked in.

Though she did find herself a bit flustered at times, be it from maybe a little longer than acceptable eye contact or when Diana would lean over the table to point at something on her page causing Akko to avert her eyes away from the neckline of the other girl's v-neck shirt, by the end of the study session she found herself a lot more comfortable around the blonde. While she wasn't necessarily unapproachable before, the last two hours had given Akko a more human view of the girl running laps through her mind.

The way the blonde squints her eyes and narrows her lips when she is trying to think of how to explain something, or the way her right eyebrow raises whenever she asked a review question, and how she absentmindedly holds her forefinger to her lips while reading were all really endearing things she wasn't sure she would have noticed unless she was in this position. Sure, maybe she shouldn't have been paying so much attention to the girl in front of her growing more beautiful with every tap of her pen, but she did find motivation to answering questions correctly in getting the chance to see the blonde's soft smile as a reward.

It was definitely helpful, and while it was kind of boring learning tricks on memorizing vocabulary, she was looking forward to her time in the library with the blonde the following day.

As they make their way down the hallway towards the locker room and their waiting friends, Diana quizzes Akko on terminology. When they come into view, Hannah, Barbara, Amanda, and Lotte look at the two of them with smiles and a shine in their eyes.

A little unsettled by the expressions on a majority of the girls in the hallway, Diana stops her quizzing and looks towards them apologetically. "I hope we didn't keep you. When did practice finish?"

"Oh, not long ago, don't worry about it." Hannah says waving her hand, still smiling that her plan to get Akko to carry Diana's books was a complete success. While she was hoping to see her friend a little more flustered, the fact that the two looked so cute together as they walked down the hallway just filled her with pride.

"So, how was your study date?" Amanda asks making Akko, Diana, Hannah, and Barbara freeze and shoot a glare at her. Each girl was so focused on skewering the redhead with their eyes that they completely missed the looks on one another's faces. Meanwhile, Amanda basked.

"I believe our study  _session_  went well. I think Akko's shown a lot of improvement with the short time we spent today." She says with a soft glance over at the angrily blushing brunette who finally tears her eyes away from Amanda as she realizes she is receiving a compliment. "Though we will be sure when I test you tomorrow to see if you remember what we covered today."

"Ooh, so second date plans already, huh?" The redhead whistles before Akko walks purposefully into her shoulder.

"Alright, enough." Akko says with a bright blush as she pushes Amanda backward. "Lets go."

"Ow! Geez! I'm just playing!"

"Thank you again, Diana!" The brunette yells over her shoulder disregarding Amanda's pained pleas.

"Akko?" Diana asks after mentally thanking the girl for doing what she wished she could have to the redhead.

"Uh huh?" Akko says as she continues pushing like a plow does snow.

"May I have my books?"

 


	16. Touching Base

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a successful week of studying, Akko and Diana spend a little time together outside of school. Diana finds herself with an unexpected weight on her shoulders as she is reunited with an old familiar face.

 

The next few days of studying went as well as they could. Akko missed going to practice and while Diana felt the same, she was much quicker to get back into the mindset of putting their time to good use.

At the start of their first study session, Diana had been nervous- nervous that she would allow her emotions get the better of her and nervous that she wouldn't be able to help her friend because of them. She sat down in the library with a strict expectation of herself, but the moment she saw Akko standing in front of her balancing her books, two cups of coffee and the giant smile on her face, her resolve to be completely and unshakably professional waned. While she did allow herself to appreciate the brunette whenever she would look away and work in her notebook, Diana did take her job as tutor seriously. She found that in the context of schoolwork it was much easier to push her emotions down, and by the end of the session she felt almost comfortable with the girl.

Over the next couple of study sessions, Hannah and Barbara's insistent and out of character questioning on how Akko was progressing all but confirmed her thoughts about their awareness of her feelings for the brunette. While the fact that they seemed to be supportive was comforting, she was not ready to take on that particular conversation with them. Talking about it with Amanda was one thing (she didn't really have a say in the matter), but telling her closest friends would make it all far more real than she was willing to admit.

Besides, there is a chance it may not be necessary. Ever since she had started finding it easier to feel less on edge around the brunette, the thought that her feelings of infatuation could be fading became ever more present in her mind. It had happened before with Amanda, though, for her, she didn't recall the mere thought of the possibility weighing so bitterly on her chest.

She enjoyed her time with Akko, even though the brunette had her bouts of unfocus, the occasional groan of frustration bringing the librarian speed walking to their table, and insisted on breaks in the middle of their studying to engage in pleasant conversation, Diana was honestly surprised at the amount of effort and determination the brunette put into relearning how to study in an effective way. The amount of progress in the small amount of time they had been studying for had her proud of the shorter girl. Hopefully she would remember the new methods moving forward, but if not, she would not be opposed to working with her further.

On the other hand, for Akko, it had all been a struggle. The more time she spends with the blonde, the more she curses the heavens over the fact that her rival is so damn nice (*cough* and also the current holder of her erratically beating heart *uncough*).

Yeah, Diana's a bit of a stickler when it comes to staying on task ( _for example_ , when Akko was  _clearly_  trying to learn her favorite color, but she  _insisted_  on getting back to DNA sequencing) but then she reminded herself that the blonde was really trying to help her, and for that Akko was grateful.

Most surprisingly of all, it seemed to be working! As each day passes, though she wouldn't say she's confident, she likes her chances for doing well on Finnelan's upcoming exam more and more... which means one step closer to getting back on the team.

But it was not easy.

She  _may_  or  _may not_  have caught herself starting to draw a heart around the word 'DNA'… but that is beside the point! Even though she found herself distracted more often than not by the blonde's little mannerisms and had come to the conclusion that she only stays focused because she's learned to associate high school level genetics and cell reproduction with the smell of Diana's shampoo, Akko  _was_  learning something. Be it biology, the fact that she's slowly falling further down the rabbit hole for Diana every time the blonde says her name, or both.

She found herself getting lost in her time with Diana. Yeah, it's filled with vocabulary terms that she maybe didn't completely understand, whose explanations and tie-ins with one another took FOREVER to go over, but when she and Diana would talk she would get swept away by the sound of her voice and left completely unaware of the passage of time.

In reality, time prevailed as normal— which is why over the last two days Akko had been unfashionably late to her sessions at the gym.

Since she was not allowed to train with the team at school, she had taken up an offer from Frank to help her exercise while she was off the field. Frank and Andrew forgave her tardiness on the first day, but on the next, they had questions. This resulted in Akko sharing the knowledge about her study sessions after school with Diana, causing them to both quirk their brows, ask why her  _'rival'_  was helping her instead of going to practice, and then insisted the brunette invite her to the gym with her to do non-ankle straining exercises. They wanted to finally meet the girl who had smitten their friend, whether she was aware of it or not.

And so now, here she is, sitting on the dugout bench beside Diana debating back and forth on whether or not she should bring up her gym friends' request as they intensely watch their team get a run for their money against the Honnōji Academy Stars.

_I don't think she'd think it's like a date. Normal friend friends do that, I mean look at Andrew and Frank! I mean, if she asked me, I wouldn't think it was a date, right?_

_..._

_No._

_Yeah, I'd think it was a date._

_BUT THAT'S ONLY BECAUSE I LIKE HER AND WOULD WANT IT TO BE A DATE!_

"THREE!" The umpire yells bringing Akko's attention back to the field as he signals the third out for the inning. Amanda kicks at the dirt beneath her feet, clenching her fists as she walks back from first base where she had just been tagged out. She rips the helmet off her head and shoots the pitcher a nasty glare.

"Seems you're losing your bite, O'Neill." The dark-haired girl says haughtily.

"Funny, that's not what your mom said last night."

It had taken Akko an inning or so, but she realized she knew a handful of the girls on this team from her time on recreational league. She immediately recognized the bowl cut on a girl named Mako as she bounced next to another familiar girl with red highlights who had been glaring at Akko since she sat down. It seems Ryuko has still not forgiven her for the 'pants ripping incident'...

As the Stars clear the field, Ryuko continues to stare her down until taking a seat in her own team's dugout. Akko shrinks in her seat very interested in a flat pebble at her feet.

_Heh heh… I… might actually be thankful I'm not playing in this one..._

"Is something wrong?" Akko turns her head to see Diana look at her curiously. Until this moment, Diana had been locked onto the game, straining and clenching at every play that could have gone better. Akko never really expected her to be the fidgety type, but after seeing her roll a ball between her hands for ten minutes before placing it down in favor of keeping the score sheet for Coach Callistis, she found yet another endearing aspect of the blonde.

"Ah, uh no, I just… don't have the greatest track record with one of the girls on the other team." The brunette laughs nervously. "We uh, kinda knew each other through our rec team."

"Is it Matoi?" The blonde asks as she looks over to the girl still glaring from the opposing dugout despite her bubbly brunette friend inserting a fourth stick of gum into her mouth.

"You know her?" Akko's eyebrows raise in question.

_Oh god, please don't tell me she knows about the pants!_

"I was on travelling with her half sister, the pitcher."

"Yeah, and in related news, Satsuki's still a bitch." Amanda says as she flings off her batting gloves and retrieves her hat from the bat bag at Akko's feet.

"Don't you think you're being a bit resentful? She is a talented pitcher, and if I recall, you two had quite the rivalry."

"Siding with her, huh?" the redhead growls.

"Hardly." Diana smiles. "I'm just saying some healthy rivalry has a way of improving performance."

"Whatever…" Amanda waves her hand dismissively. "I'm gonna go hit her in her stupid face." She grumbles as she stalks out of the dugout and towards the pitcher's mound.

Akko watches, taken aback by the redhead as she throws an almost literal fireball over the plate at Constanze. "That's a side of her I've never seen...Kinda scary…"

"You should have seen when they were competing to pitch for our championship game." Diana whispers prompting Akko's eyebrows to raise in interest.

"Okay ladies, let's go! We have to hold them!" Croix claps her hands as she walks into the dugout. "Cavendish, what's the score?"

"One-three, them." She says dutifully.

"Alright! We've got two innings left, and we're down by two! Get out there and show 'em what you've got!"

"You can do it girls!" Ursula yells before turning to Akko, Diana, Blair, and Mary on the bench. "Let's pick up the energy in here!"

* * *

The inning was close to a disaster.

Despite the Witches' aggressive cheering, the Stars manage to load the bases by the time heavy hitter, Mako Mankanshoku, comes up at bat. For the entire game, the tiny girl had been slamming the ball to the far ends of the outfield and this at bat is no different. Amanda even tries to spin the ball in such a way to have it ricochet off the bat down to the ground, but tragically, the attempt was for naught as the ball makes contact and launches deep into right field. Though, in a surprise play, the Witches erupt into cheers as Lotte, arm stretched and legs pumping, dives backwards catching the ball firmly in her glove.

With Lotte's catch giving them their third out, the Stars frustratedly make their ways back to the dugout amongst the cheers of the Witches in the infield. Amanda sticks her tongue out at Satsuki (afterward, earning a scolding from Coach Croix for unsportsmanlike conduct) as the opponent pitcher saunters off the field from second base.

Sucy runs to Lotte in right field, helping her to her feet and making sure she's alright before grabbing her shoulder and shaking her enthusiastically (enthusiastically for Sucy, that is) as the redhead smiles, adjusting her goggles. They make their way to the dugout together as the rest of the team rushes in, high-fiving and cheering for the hero for the inning. Akko jumps from the bench screaming Lotte's name, (causing Diana to wince and question if she had burst an eardrum), and runs over to her friend throwing her arms around her.

"That was a beautiful catch Lotte!" Ursula smiles, as she dodges Akko's arms. Clapping her hands, she yells to address the team, "Okay girls we've gotta get out there and get some runs! Jasminka, Hannah, Avery, you're on deck!"

Despite the wild cheering as kicked off by Lotte's catch, it shapes up to be another rough inning at bat. Though Jasminka did manage to get to second base with a double, both Hannah and Avery struck out against the pitcher Amanda continues to grit her teeth at. After a couple deep breaths, a tender look, and a hidden good luck kiss on the cheek from her girlfriend, Barbara heads out to the batter's box from behind the dugout.

"I will admit, there's been a lot less excitement since you've been off practices…" Sucy says as she picks at the dirt under her fingernails.

"What do you mean?" Akko asks curiously.

"Everybody else is too good, you at least screw up enough that we can get a laugh."

"Hmph! You don't mean that! Just you wait! When I get back out there, I'll show you!"

"I don't know, I think you play team support Mom better than you've ever played left field."

"Hey!" Akko shouts as Lotte lightly slaps a snickering Sucy.

"THIRD OUT!" The umpire calls as Barbara turns from home plate with a frustrated sigh, angrily tapping the head of her bat on the ground as she walks back into the dugout.

"It's okay ladies! We can still come back!" Croix yells, clapping her hands in an attempt to improve morale. "We just need to hold them!"

"That was fast." Sucy says cracking her neck.

"Looks like we're back up again…" Lotte sighs disheartened as she bends over to pick up her dropped glove.

"Aright… hopefully we can get this over with quickly."

"Don't say it like that! You can still do this!" Akko whines at her closest friends. "Don't give up! It's not worth it unless there's a challenge!" She yells with a grand gesture before holding out a waiting fist. "Go! Get out there and make Mama Kagari proud!"

The two girls roll their eyes and get up from the bench. After succumbing to the three-man fist bump, Akko allows them to leave and head into the field.

From the corner of her eye, Diana watches the exchange and tries to tame a humored smile.

_Mama Kagari? Haha! She is_ _actually_ _the most adorable thing I've ever seen._

"Man!" Akko groans dramatically switching her previous expression to that of over the top anguish. "I want to play so  _baaad_! It's killing me!"

Diana lets out a sigh of her own with a sympathetic smile. "I must admit, the inactivity is proving to be more frustrating than I had thought it would be."

The brunette groans, nodding her head. "But at least you should be back in by next week, right?"

"That  _is_ what the nurse implied. Though I've been told to continue wearing the support to ensure the injury doesn't repeat itself." She says as she delicately moves her foot in her brace. "I feel I should be fine come Monday's practice, but I may have to take it slower until I've fully reconditioned it."

At this, Akko's ears prick up, yet again she debates bringing up her earlier question.

_Frank DID say he knew exercises she could do... And if I invite her to the gym with that as an offer she might not see it like a date-y thing?_

_Besides I'm inviting her to hang out with BOYS. No way she'll think it's a date. Though… now that I think about it… I don't know how I'd feel if she liked one of them…_

_But on the OTHER hand… she might NOT like them and then we can workout together and I can show her how much I can do on the squat press._

_Really? That's gay, Akko._

_Or is it bi?_

_Hm..._

_Wait. She's looking at me. How long have I been quiet for? Crap._

"Are you sure you're alright?" Akko reorients herself to see Diana's full focus on her, a concerned look plastered on her features.

"Of yeah! Totally! I was um… just thinking…"

_Welp, too late now!_

"That well...I have a friend at the gym who is in school to be a physical therapist. I was wondering, if maybe you would want to go to the gym with me? Um him… US! Ya know, if you  _wanted,_  he could maybe show you some exercises to help with your foot? Don't feel like you have to or anything..."

For a moment, Diana contemplates the offer. If she had wanted to, she could have easily declined (she is quite aware of the necessary exercise and care for her injury going forward), however, there is a small, protective yet bitter, part of her that urges her to accept the invitation.

_I suppose I WAS curious about these 'gym friends' she had mentioned at the cafe…_

_This may be a good opportunity to be sure these college boys are not attempting to exploit her… Obviously. That's it. To make sure she's in trustworthy company...Of course._

"I suppose that it may be beneficial…"

"Really?!" Akko lights up with a huge smile, causing Diana to flinch from the overt enthusiasm. "Oh it'll be great! It's a super nice gym and it's got a bunch of machines and… oh! You can use my guest pass! And-"

Once Diana regains herself she cannot help but be charmed by the other girl's ramblings. It appears as though Akko is still trying to sell the idea of the gym to her and Diana can only listen as the girl gushes. She wonders at what point she started to liken the brunette's voice to her favorite song.

"-You're gonna love it. I mean, I do, so I hope you do too! Andrew and Frank are really nice too, don't get intimidated by their muscles though. I mean, not that their arms are nicer than yours, I MEAN yours are really... and um… THEY'RE JUST BIG GUYS YA KNOW?! HAH HAH-"

_WHY AM I LIKE THIS?! Stop! Talking!_

_Did… did she just say I had nice arms?_

From further down the bench, Mary and Blair watch Akko get louder and louder as she continues to choke on her words. Mary, who had been watching the two like the protagonists of a rom-com, slaps her hand to her face in second-hand embarrassment.

_Dear lord. Somebody has to put that poor thing down._

* * *

The game ended in a tie. In the 7th inning, the Witches managed to get two runs bringing the game into extra innings. They held the Stars to their three runs, though in return, Satsuki gave no mercy while pitching. In the 9th inning, the game was called ending in both teams shaking hands (some more aggressively than others) and tiredly thanking each other for a good game.

After one full day of excruciatingly long classes and a slightly more nerve wracking study session than usual, Akko walks into the gym towards Andrew and Frank with her phone clutched tightly in her hand.

"On time today, huh Miss Kagari?" Andrew says with a shaky smile as he finishes a set of bicep curls before setting the weight down on it's rack. "How did your game go yesterday?"

Akko sits on the seat of a machine across from the green eyed boy and Frank as the latter counts tricep pull-downs. She sighs, "We tied 3 to 3 and went into double overtime... it was a rough game."

"That's unfortunate. Though it's better than a loss."

"Hey Akko!" Frank huffs with a smile as he stretches his arms across his chest. "No luck inviting your gir- erm... tutor to join?"

Akko tightens her lips hoping to keep the smile from spreading across her face as she checks her phone screen. "She said she needed to run home to get a change of clothes, but she said she'd give me a text when she gets here." Her eyes run over the new phone contact reading 'Diana Cavendish' at the top of her screen as a flutter makes itself known in her chest.

After today's study session, Diana had mentioned that she needed to run home beforehand and that she would meet Akko at the gym. The brunette was relieved that the blonde had the forethought and the guts to ask to exchange numbers in order to let her know of her arrival— she just hoped that Diana didn't notice that her response was the word 'sure' two octaves too high.

For the second (or twelfth) time in the last five minutes, she checks her phone awaiting a notification to pop up on her text-free screen.

"Oh yeah?" Frank says excitedly as Andrew looks over pleasantly surprised.

"It's about time we finally meet this mystery rival of yours."

* * *

Diana takes a breath before pushing open the passenger door of the SUV and stepping out tenderly onto the sidewalk.

"Do be careful with your ankle, Miss." Adler says as he hands Diana her nearly forgotten water bottle. "I will be nearby, so when you are ready to be picked up just give me a call."

"Thank you, Adler. I will be sure to take care. I do not wish to be in this brace any longer than I have to be." Diana says kindly before bidding her driver farewell with a smile, hoping it masks the nervousness building in her chest. She watches the car pull away, leaving her alone in front of the gym as she scrolls through her phone's contacts for Akko's number.

When she clicks on the name the other girl had input into her phone, she bites her bottom lip with a half smile. She was positive she looked ridiculous smiling at her phone, but there was no one around so she allows herself to continue as she taps in a message.

' _I've just arrived. Where should I meet you?'_

Almost instantly she feels her phone vibrate in reply.

' _I will come get you! Gimme one sec!'_

As Diana walks inside to wait by the the gym sign-in she begins to anxiously pick at her sleeves— or in this case, lack thereof.

_What on Earth was I thinking on wearing this?_

_Are you daft? You were thinking 'Akko likes your arms'._

_Why am I even trying to-? Ahhh! Bloody hell, I must look absolutely ridiculous… maybe real quickly...I could go buy-_

"HEY! DIANuhhhh…" Akko's jaw drops as her previously waving hand falls limp at her wrist. In the midst of her short-circuiting, her pupils contract as she takes in the sight of Diana in a pair of calf-length, skin-tight exercise pants and a baggy sleeveless shirt with armholes low enough to tastefully display her sports bra. Akko had completely come to terms with the fact that she found Diana attractive, but this… this was A LOOK. She's seen this very girl almost naked changing in the locker room, but she was completely unprepared to see this sight before her.

_Oh my god, that is NOT fair._

"Hello Akko!" Diana says with a pink tint on her cheeks as she forces herself to look into crimson eyes. She had been too busy trying not to look directly at the short shorts the brunette had decided to wear that she hadn't even realized Akko had stalled out.

Once over the initial surprise, at last the power switches back on in Akko's brain allowing her to form words. "H-hey Diana. That shirt looks...um… IT'S NICE."

_Great. Not subtle at all. Good job, baka._

"Thank you." Diana says as she barely raises her arms feeling the light fabric brush her sides, "Though, I do not believe the style suits me particularly well-"

"Are you kidding?!" The brunette shouts causing a violent blush to claim both her and the blonde's cheeks. "I-I mean, just, you, I think you look really nice. Like, not that you don't usually...AGHH I MEAN- hey! Let me check you ou-IN! Let's get you checked in! And I um, how about I give you a tour of the gym?"

_OH MY GOD, IT WASN'T THIS HARD TALKING TO HER LITERALLY AN HOUR AGO!_

* * *

"48, 49, 50. Aaghh!" Frank growls as he finishes his second round of bicep curls. "Hey, Andrew, what are you at?"

"39, 40, 41…"

"Whoooo, speed it up brother." Frank lets out a breath as he slaps the other boy on the shoulder. "So, do ya think this Diana knows our little girl's crushing hard?"

"Who knows," he says between lifts. "But judging by the excessive generosity this girl affords her, I'd say Miss Kagari's chances are substantial."

"Hope so!" Franks grins before his eyes shoot open wide as he sees Akko and her guest approaching from across the gym. "Woah. Dude. Hold up,  _look_  at  _her_." He whispers excitedly as he elbows Andrew. "Phewwww...Good job Akko…"

Andrew places down the weights in his hands and as he turns to look at the newcomer his eyebrows raise in surprise.

* * *

Still slightly reeling from her welcoming, Diana looks around the gym as Akko begins her tour of the building. She would admit, the gym was pretty nice. There were plenty of machines organized by muscle groups, mats for stretching and yoga, a rock wall, as well as an entire section for free weights. As Diana is led towards the free weights, she sees two boys matching the descriptions Akko had mentioned in the cafe. Upon walking nearer her eyes widen in recognition.

_Is…? How hadn't I even considered…?_

"Okay!" Akko starts with a deep breath and a big sweeping motion towards the boys. "Diana, this is Andrew and Frank. Andrew and Frank, meet Diana."

"Hey, I'm Frank." The blonde boy says with a wink and a smile. "It's nice to finally put a face to a name, Akko's mentions you a lot-"

"Ehh!? No!" In a nervous panic Akko bats at the blonde boy desperately trying to make him stop. "I wouldn't say _a lot_! I'd say a totally normal amount! Usually less than that actually!"

Not allowing herself to think too much about Akko's admission to talking about her during her time outside of school, Diana focuses on muting the blush brought about by the brunette's nervous rambling as the green eyed boy walks toward her.

Andrew smiles thoughtfully as he stops in front of the significantly shorter blonde girl. "Isn't it a small world? Good to see you, cousin."

"Hello, Andrew." She responds stiffly.

Frank and Akko freeze in place and look at the two. "Wait…What?"

* * *

After a quick family history of their relation through Diana's father's side of the family and some failed prompting of embarrassing childhood stories, the four begin their workouts. Frank starts off suggesting particular exercises that would help with Diana's injury as well as good cardio in lieu of running on a treadmill. When finished, he and Andrew pair off spotting for each other leaving the two girls together.

Diana wasn't familiar with working out with the resources of a gym. Normally, her workouts outside of practice consisted of the use of the small assortment of exercise gear at her home, running, and repeating exercises used in practice— so this whole environment was pretty new to her. Fortunately, Akko continues her role as her gym guide, leading her around to the machines Frank had recommended.

Overall, Diana was impressed by how familiar the brunette was with a majority of the equipment around the gym. Rather, she was impressed with the girl using a majority of the equipment. She supposed that there was never really much opportunity to see it in practice, but seeing her here, glistening with sweat and red faced from exertion, Diana came to conclusion that Akko is  _far_   _stronger_ than she looks.

She knew the brunette was toned, that was evident in the locker room, but seeing the extent to her flex in action filled her stomach with butterflies.

Unfortunately, the butterflies were the least of her worries. During a healthy bout of competitive pull ups where Diana set a rep five higher than Akko, forcing the brunette to do her best to surpass her, Diana was surprised she didn't outright burst a blood vessel at the breathy, strangled sounds Akko made as she struggled to pull herself up with fatigued arms.

That, coupled with her t-shirt pulling up displaying a familiar yet slightly more defined than previous abdomen, forced her brain to blank, reboot, and then make her look away in a panic to be sure no one was watching her as she became increasingly flustered.

In particular, she was desperately hoping to avoid the gaze of a pair of familiar green eyes.

She was not overly concerned of her actions for a majority of the time (after all, Akko is her friend, and under normal circumstances her behavior reflects as such), however, the threat of Andrew catching her in a potentially compromising moment of distraction has her on edge.

This could be dangerous. If he sees her and makes an assumption, depending on his opinion- which growing up has, traditionally, been rather conservative- if word were to get out, her fears could become a reality. If he were to see something incriminating, the power he would hold could cause her world to come crashing down.

And on top of that, he had developed a relationship of sorts with Akko. If he were to see something and mention it to the brunette, it ran the risk of ruining their friendship, Akko's trust, and her image. Growing up, she didn't have the best of relationships with him, and with the current situation as well as his and Akko's developing friendship, her feelings toward him did not trend positively.

Not to mention, considering the possibility of either of them developing feelings for one another sows a seed of despair deep in Diana's gut. While just the idea of Akko having feelings for someone else made her chest ache, the thought of  _Andrew..._  her own cousin… a person who could hold so much power over her... claiming Akko's affections, had the potential to send her into a downward spiral. While she had considered the possibility that her feelings could be fading, after today, after these thoughts, she knew now- that was simply not the case. The revelation troubled her, but also lit a nervous fire in her chest that begged for tinder.

Now reinforced by the present relevance of her fears and her imaginarily bolstered distaste for the green eyed boy, Diana worked to maintain her composure as Akko tried her hardest to show off to her.

-Both encountered trouble following through on their missions.-

"I… guh… think I'm doing this right?" Akko grunts leaning back on the leg press locking her knees as she pushes up against the weighted plate. "It… doesn't feel right…"

"Looks good to me..." Diana absentmindedly mutters under her breath, unable to take her eyes off the expanse of Akko's legs stretched out in front of her.

"Frank! Is this right?" Akko calls out, really trying not to embarrass herself directly in front of her crush. "I don't think it's doing what it's supposed to."

The blonde boy finishes stretching his calf before turning to the struggling brunette and her friend that is suddenly very interested in the nearest wall. "Well, you're doing it right if you're trying to destroy your knees. Here…"

Diana takes a few steps back away from the machine as Frank walks over to secure the resistance plate and begin to show Akko the proper way to do the exercise without injury.

As she watches Frank's demonstration, noting in comparison just how wrong Akko was doing it before, she notices Andrew walk up and stand beside her.

_Remain calm. Do not give away your insecurity. If there's one thing I take away from Aunt Daryl's care, let it be this._

"I should have thought there was a possibility that you were the Diana she spoke so highly of." Andrew says as he looks down at her from the corner of his eye. "Though, I wouldn't have expected you to keep in the company of someone so eccentric."

"I am fortunate she affords me the opportunity. Akko is a kind girl." Diana responds curtly, years of experience in controlling her expression during formal family gatherings come to mind as she stands next to the taller boy. "Perhaps a bit colorful in terms of behavior, but everything she acts on is well meaning."

"I would be inclined to agree." He returns his eyes to the brunette who is hanging on every word of his friend's instruction. "I imagine you must be finding yourself busy, taking on the generous role of Miss Kagari's tutor."

"Its nothing unmanageable. I would do the same for any of my classmates."

"As well as accompany them to the gym on an injured ankle?" An assuming smile lightly graces his lips. "I was sure someone from a family of doctors would know how to care for their injuries on their own, but it seems I am mistaken if you seek a PT undergrad for advice."

Diana levels her breath as she tightens the hold on the mask keeping her face from admitting her anxiety. "Is there something you are insinuating?"

"Nothing at all, I'm simply impressed by the lengths you would go for a friend. I did not recall you being so social in our childhood, though I suppose it has been a while. You two contrast so drastically, I would not have expected you two to have developed a friendship."

"She is amiable." Diana bristles, eager to redirect the direction of conversation. "Now, if you do not mind my asking, do you often offer your assistance to high school girls?"

A reserved laugh escapes Andrew's throat. "Not so regularly. Miss Kagari is a special case. I fear I've taken on a self initiated responsibility as her spotter. She has proven at times to be a danger to herself and I'd hate to see her injured. I admit I've grown quite fond of her."

"Is that so?" She questions, a nearly invisible trace of venom on her tongue.

"Do not confuse my meaning. While I admit she does have a unique charm about her, I have little interest in the idea of courtship." He says with a smile before subtly glancing down at the rigid blonde. "Besides, I'm fairly certain she has her eyes on someone else."

At his words, Diana feels both relief and a discomforting pang in her chest. Before she can formulate a response the two turn to the sound of Frank's voice.

"Hey Andrew! Squat rack's open! Go go go!"

"Frank, that guy hasn't even wiped it down yet-"

"The dude at the bells is making a move for it. Hurry up Hanbridge, or I swear I'll start running!"

Andrew lets out a sigh and starts walking to the rack. "Alright, alright. I'm going."

"Think you got it, Akko?" Frank asks as he turns back to the girl on the leg press.

"Got it!" The brunette gives him a thumbs up as she lifts her legs and wiggles herself back into position on the padded seat. "Hey Diana, check this out!"

* * *

The remainder of their workout was rather enjoyable. Akko managed to somehow (silly faces and squats) take Diana's mind off her and Andrew's peculiar conversation (which Diana is sure will be eating at her the moment she gets home). After the humorous banter that ensues as the two girls engage in a competition of flexibility by doing splits during their post workout stretches, the four meet up and walk out of the gym together.

As they say their goodbyes at the entrance of the gym, Akko fist bumps Frank and Andrew before turning to Diana and wrapping her into a sweaty hug. The blonde freezes unsure of how to proceed. She wanted to melt into the hug. She wanted to take the time to memorize and revel in the feeling of the brunette's arms around her. But there looking at her was Andrew with a strange look in his green eyes and a controlled smile on his lips. Hesitantly, she stiffly returns the brunette's hug, ending it far quicker than she would have wished.

Akko and Frank lead the way into the parking lot, Diana and Andrew following behind. Before their parting of ways, Andrew matches pace with Diana and places a hand on her shoulder, stopping her mid stride. She turns to the taller boy with false ease, quickly resetting her defenses as he looks at her with conflicted eyes.

As he begins, Diana is taken by surprise by the genuine kindness in his tone.

"I don't know what your intent is… but... please try not to hurt Miss Kagari."

In an instant, her armor shatters. Her mouth goes dry as her heart beats deafeningly in her ears and when she looks up into his eyes, mortification swims in her own.

"She is a kind girl…" he continues calmly, "...and she cares deeply for your relationship. And while I will not assume anything... try not to let our family affect your thoughts of her." He takes his eyes off blue and looks towards the brunette girl and the blonde boy laughing and flexing their arms at each other. "Expectation thrust upon oneself by another is not the same as the expectation of oneself  _dedicated_  to another. If you find someone who makes you want to better yourself, don't allow the opinions of others to make a difference." A smile graces his lips as he continues to watch the two play. "It's not so often you come across those people."

Shaken, Diana takes her eyes off the taller boy and finds herself at a loss for words as she stares blankly at the pavement in front of her.

_What...what is he saying? How… did he?_

"Enjoy your evening, Diana." Andrew says as he gives her shoulder a tender squeeze before walking away. "It really was nice to see you after so long. I do hope you join us again."

* * *

Once Diana reaches her bed she falls backwards sinking into the comforter. She holds her phone to her chest waiting for the text indicating that Akko had gotten home safely. Despite offering the girl a ride, the brunette declined saying that she likes to jog home as the last part of her workout, and so she had the girl promise to let her know of her arrival back home.

As she lay stretched out on her bed, Diana revels in the feeling of physical exhaustion weighing sweetly on her arms and legs, the endorphins from exercise taking her through a high that she had not felt since getting her injury. However, the calm is disrupted by Andrew's words reverberating in her head.

_He… somehow he knew… and still… those things he said. Expectations..._

The whole occurrence admittedly threw her for a loop. She didn't expect the kindness in his voice or the softness of his eyes as he took her fear in his hands and more or less assured its safety. The Andrew she saw today was nothing like the snobbish boy she grew up with, and she couldn't help but wonder if what he said about bettering oneself was learned from experience.

_I feel badly for initially thinking so poorly of him… but how did he come to his conclusion? I don't believe I allowed myself so much leniency. Unless it is so blatantly obvious and I'm just in denial..._

She groans as she stretches her back and presses her palms into her eyes.

_I suppose that is possible. Hannah and Barbara seem to have their suspicions even though I was sure I was careful._

_On the positive, it doesn't seem Akko is aware… or at least seems to feel the knowledge of my interest to be something to worry about. If she had known, I doubt she would have worn such short-_

She feels a buzz from the phone resting on her stomach, the vibration seemingly stirring the butterflies that were waiting in anticipation. She allows a small smile and sigh of relief to cross her lips as she picks up the phone to read the message.

' _Just got home! Thanks again for coming to the gym with me! I hope you had fun! It's so weird that you and Andrew are related. If you ever want to go again just lmk!'_

She genuinely would not be opposed to the invitation, though she felt she needed to come to terms with a few things before she would be ready to face Andrew again. Despite his words sending her into a near catatonic state, they were also filled with care for the brunette.

As much as she wanted to pretend their conversation hadn't happened and continue to innocently fantasize what a world would be like alongside Akko, she knew Andrew was right. It wasn't fair that he used her own words, the one simple fact, to sum up why she couldn't continue to push the envelope of their friendship without more disclosure. 'Akko is a kind girl' and the last thing she wants is to take advantage of her kindness.

Diana taps in a reply.

' _I'm glad to hear you've gotten home safely. I had an enjoyable time. Thank you again for the invitation, and I will be sure to let you know.'_

After a short volley of texts, the two say their goodbyes when Akko leaves for the shower.

' _Goodnight Diana :D'_

The blonde reads the final message over and over again until the light of her phone screen goes dark from inactivity. She holds it to her chest with a troubled brow as she stares up at her ceiling.

_My feelings for her have only grown, and if today was any indication, I have become increasingly protective over her. I must selfishly admit, I'm relieved to see that she didn't appear to show too much interest in either of the boys..._

Her mind drifts back to their workout. The friendly competition, the laughter— things she was self-conscious about but that came so naturally when she was beside the brunette.

_While she is able to fluster me out of my senses, I don't think I've ever met someone who could so easily ground me as she does. Humbling, yet when I'm with her I feel myself capable of untapped potential._

She takes a deep breath.

"I don't want to pretend that she means less to me than she does… than she has all this time…" she whispers to herself, still frightened of her words even in the privacy of her bedroom. "She's special to me and I want to let her know…"

She scrunches her eyes in frustration and lifts her arm to cover them.

_But I don't think I can just yet._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey yall! Sorry I've been kinda bad at updating... I'm not gonna lie... I keep getting caught up in other things and getting these chapters up keep slipping my mind. I'M SORRY! I will try to be better!!


	17. Batter Late Than Never

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After weeks of hard work, at long last Akko is back in the locker room and ready to play! As they prepare and make their way to the Cockatrice's field for their rematch, Akko and Diana realize how much their time together over the past few weeks has affected their friendship with one another.

 

Two quicker than anticipated weeks of study sessions, two B+ unit exams, and one big grade changing project later, Akko stands in the softball locker room hugging everything she can wrap her arms around.

"I'M SO HAPPY!" She yells, echoing into her open locker.

"Good to have ya back Akko," Amanda says slapping her shoulder as she and the rest of their friends filter into the locker room. "Now D-Cav has no choice but to share you."

Diana rolls her eyes with an exhale, a new regular action. Ever since she returned to the team a week and a half prior, the redhead has been incessant on teasing her over Akko. She had learned to expect it, be it around the brunette or not, and so Amanda's words no longer flustered her as drastically as before.

"Well, I didn't see  _you_  trying to help me out!" Akko says blushing as she takes her head out of the locker.

"To be fair," Sucy says blankly, "if she was helping you, you'd probably be failing more classes…"

"Got that right!" Amanda holds up her fist prompting Sucy to meet it with her own.

Lotte squeezes in by Akko's side and begins unzipping her bag after hanging it in her locker. "I just think it's great that we finally have everybody back together. It felt quiet with you missing."

"Definitely a lot less entertainment." Amanda says with a stretch. "I've been trying to pick up your slack and be the team ditz, but I didn't realize how much hard work it is. You do it so effortlessly." She says with a wink as Akko fixes her with a pout.

"And you really did try too hard." Sucy says as she turns to her locker beside Lotte's. "You nearly gave Coach Callistis a heart attack when you tried to cannonball into first base."

"Not like I was gonna break my ass or anything. Jazzy always catches me."

"Mhm!" Jasminka hums happily as Amanda pulls her over into a one-armed hug.

"Welcome back Miss Kagari." Croix says as she walks into the locker room, bag slung over her shoulder with Ursula at her side. "I hope you're ready for today's game."

Fiery red eyes look up at the coaches, a determined smile spread across her face. "I was born ready!"

"Glad to hear it!" The lilac haired woman smiles before gesturing to Ursula. "Then I believe you'll be wanting this back…"

The assistant coach holds up Akko's uniform with a smile. As per the terms of the academic probation, she had to return her uniform until she was determined to be in good academic standing so this reunion is more than just getting back on the team, it is the confirmation that all her hard work and time studying had paid off.

The last few weeks filled her with a new determination, a new expectation of herself she now knows she can reach. If she can come back from a low grade, her dream of becoming a college softball player becomes a lot more realistic if she can get into college. At this rate, maybe she could even get into Polaris. If she has the drive, she can do anything. And of course, she has Diana to thank for helping push her to this realization.

Her last name and the number 7 stare up at her from the blue fabric of the jersey adding tinder to her new fire, her new motivation driving her forward towards her dream.

_No way I'm gonna lose this again!_

She takes the uniform in her hands and brings it to her chest. "Thank you, Coach! I promise it won't happen again!"

"I hope not. Miss O'Neill took it upon herself to try to make up for your absence and I don't think I can handle that again." Croix shoots the redhead a pointed look to which Amanda grins and stretches her arms above her head.

"Alright everybody!" Croix claps her hands, grabbing everyone's attention. "Today's our second game against the Cockatrices. I know our first game went well, but don't forget that while you've been practicing, so have they! Don't let our previous win get you... cocky." She winces. "Aright! Get yourselves ready and we're gonna head out to the bus in ten."

"Yes Coach!" The team yells echoing strongly through the locker room as the two coaches turn towards the doorway.

"That was an awful pun." Ursula whispers with an amused smile.

"It just kinda slipped..."

As the door shuts behind them the locker room refills with the sound of conversation.

"Finally!" Barbara says as she and Hannah approach Akko's group. "Maybe with you here Amanda will leave us alone."

"Not a chance Babsy!" The currently pant-less redhead says with a grin. "I've grown to like your company."

Curiously, Akko leans in towards the two grimacing girls. "You're the third person to say something like that about her... What did she even do?"

"You don't want to know." The two warn simultaneously.

"Regardless." Hannah says with the wave of a hand. "It's good to see you managed to make your way back onto the team."

"Well, thanks… I guess." She looks past them to see the reason for her reappearance lacing up her cleats.

"I can't say I'm surprised…with Diana helping you there was no question." Barbara says looking over her shoulder at the blonde.

The blonde looks up at the mention of her name and quirks a brow. "I disagree. I did not take her exams for her, she earned her position back with her own hard work."

Akko takes in her words and her face splits into a beaming smile as the furnace in her chest burns hotly.

"Well, you did help a lot...Thanks, Diana." She says smiling down at her feet. "You know...you really didn't have to keep helping me after you started going back to practice…I mean, not that I'm complaining but..."

"Well, we had been making progress and I intended to see it through..."

_Not a lie. But perhaps not the only reason..._

"...I am glad to see that the effort paid off." The blonde finishes with a smile.

"Ey Akko!" The now shirtless Amanda yells. "Save your flirting for later and let's see you back in that uniform! By the way you were talking about getting your jersey back I'm surprised you didn't straight up flash Coach C. when she gave it to you."

Red-faced, Akko clenches her shirt in her hands and spins towards the redhead with a slightly less than deadly glare.

"Welcome back, Akko." Diana says with the roll of her eyes and one last smile before turning back to her locker to continue getting ready.

While Diana still spent time with Akko during class and study sessions, the last two weeks without her in practice had been… enlightening to say the least. To start, being in the locker room without the brunette's presence was strange. It was quiet and she found herself glancing to the unused locker more often than she'd care to admit. Or perhaps it just felt so because she was trying to appear as indifferent as possible in front of the three people who (she was aware of) knew or had any idea about her feelings for the brunette.

Nobody had really said anything, aside from Amanda who had teased her since the moment she stepped back into the locker room. Comments about 'private studies' and 'a hands-on approach to the anatomy of the reproductive system'...among other things...

Hannah and Barbara, thankfully, never brought anything up aside from asking how tutoring was going. She also noticed several times that they tended to swoop in and interrupt when they were aware of Amanda's teasing. She reminds herself to thank them for their efforts if—

_When_  she tells them.

Ever since her time at the gym and her conversation with Andrew, she had seriously considered the idea of opening up to her closest friends about her feelings for Akko. While she is fairly certain they are already aware, just as she is aware of their slightly shifted dynamic to romantic, she isn't ready to say it outright just yet. The fact that they have yet to say anything to her makes her feel a little better knowing that she is not alone in her insecurity, however it still does little to determine when she will deem herself ready.

Their circumstances also differ. Unlike her two best friends, she was unsure if the person who she holds her heart out to would accept it. Yes, Amanda said there was a possibility, and she  _did_  have a knack for seeing this kind of thing, but the friendliness Akko has towards her is no different from what she gives her other friends. She is affectionate by default, a beautiful trait, though a constant source of second guessing for Diana's doubtful, logical mind.

But if Akko were to reciprocate her feelings… she was still unsure of what she would actually do.

Her mind may have dwelled a little long on the fantasy of consequence-less requited lo—  _romantic feelings_ , that when she looks beyond her hope filled goggles the thought sounds too good to be possible—

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHGHH!"

Diana whips her head around to the sound of the strangled cry only to see-

_Holy sh— oulders..._

Since she accompanied the brunette to the gym, Diana was very aware that Akko had been taking her gym workouts seriously. As was she aware that by the amount of weight she was able to move around it only made sense that she had the strength, but at  _that_  time she was wearing a baggy t-shirt.  _NOW_ , clad in only a pair of compression shorts, a black and red sports bra, and her shirt stuck around her head and arms, Diana has a front row view of Akko's chiseled back muscles and a toned rear putting on a show as the brunette tries to untangle herself from her uniform top.

Blood rushes to her face and her eyes go wide as her knees buckle beneath her. She hadn't even realized she stumbled into the lockers behind her, being too distracted by the brunette and thoughts unbefitting a lady of her upbringing, until Hannah and Barbara were at her sides lifting her from under the arms.

"Diana! What's wrong?" Hannah worries as she hooks the blonde's arm around her shoulder.

_No way just seeing Akko's… Wow… she's fit as hell… Um… back...could make her react like that!_

"Is it your ankle?" Barbara questions the stunned blonde, seemingly thinking the same incorrect solution. "Quick, let's get her to coach!"

Diana comes back to her senses and is instantly completely mortified by her reaction. As she struggles to placate the girls with an acceptable explanation that would not have brought her face to red face with the coaches, she was relieved to find that Akko's flailing seems to have claimed everyone else's attention.

"AHHH! LOTTE HELP! I'M STUCK!" She muffles within the folds of her shirt.

"O-okay, just… Akko! Stop moving so much!" Lotte's assistance amounts to little as a chorus of laughter (namely Sucy and Amanda) fills the locker room. "How did you even do this?!"

* * *

Thoroughly embarrassed by her slip up in the locker room, to which she falsely attributed to a literal slip on a shirt lying on the floor, Diana makes her way onto the bus and takes a seat by the window.

_I cannot BELIEVE I did that. That is so humiliating. At least Amanda seemed occupied… she would never let me live it down if she had seen..._

"Hey, Diana?"

With her spiraling thoughts interrupted, Diana takes her eyes off the window and turns them to the catalyst of her embarrassment wringing her hands in the bus aisle.

"I know we don't have to study or anything anymore. But um...Would... you mind if I sat with you?"

The blonde quirks her brow at the brunette girl and then over to the seat past her filled with Lotte and Sucy.

_Ah, it's only because she has no alternative. But why that posture? Does she think I'd refuse her?_

"Of course not, Akko. Please…" She says with a smile, gesturing to the empty seat beside her.

"Thanks." Akko says as she lowers herself into the seat with plop. "I promise I'll try not to hit you in the stomach again…"

A small laugh bubbles in the blonde's throat. "That would be appreciated."

Chatter fills the seats as the varsity team files onto the bus. Once the bus is loaded, Nelson takes roll call and motions to the driver to pull out of the parking lot.

After a couple announcements and a JV and Varsity group 'Welcome back, Akko!', the bus turns to quiet conversation as the girls attempt to work through their pre-game jitters. Amanda, at first, had attempted to start a chant (featuring her fist pounding on the back of an irritated Hannah and Barbara's seat), and while it did at least lighten the team's anxiety slightly, when it came to an end the bus returned to quiet.

Akko turns with the intent of talking to Lotte but stops herself as she notes the redhead's nose deep in a volume of Nightfall.

_Seriously! How can she do that in a moving bus?_

She looks around for other potential chat partners: Diana had a notebook out studying what seems to be Pre-Calculus if the title on the top of the page was to be believed, Sucy was looking out the window— at least she would have been if her eyes were open, Hannah or Barbara… she didn't really have anything to say to Hannah or Barbara, besides, they looked busy on their phones anyway, and Amanda, Jasminka, and Constance were too far away and in conversations of their own… she didn't want to yell over everybody, and more so, she didn't want Amanda to make her way closer and cause a repeat elbow stabbing.

Taking the loss in her search for social interaction, Akko bends over, unzipping the bag at her feet and pulls out a jumble of headphones that she dishearteningly sighs at before attempting to untangle.

Next to her, Diana takes her eyes off of her notebook and watches as the brunette grumbles in frustration at the frazzled mass of headphones not seeming to show any progress despite her efforts.

"Come on… you… piece of junk… frikken…"

"Would you like some assistance?"

"Eh?" She glances up to see Diana looking at her with a raised brow. "Sorry… I'm just… ehh. Almost got it." She says as she does not 'almost got it'. With one final fruitless tug she sighs in pathetic defeat and holds the wire knot out to the blonde. "Yes please…"

Diana takes the knot with a humored smile and immediately gets to work on it.

"Sorry… I was trying not to bother you, but I suppose I can't help myself. Heh heh. Wow, how are you doing that?"

Somehow in the few seconds Diana had the headphones in her hands she managed to completely disassemble the biggest tangle and was now slowly picking apart the smaller ones. "You are not a bother, Akko. Quite the opposite really. You never cease to keep things interesting." She pulls apart the final knot and straightens her handiwork before holding it out for Akko to take.

"W-well that's good. Heh. Thanks." Akko blushes, scratching her cheek with one hand as she takes the untangled headphones in the other.

Diana's soft smile widens just a fraction in response before looking back to her notebook with a fresh dusting of pink on her cheeks.

_Was that too forward? Perhaps. But it's something she should hear. I really dislike that she deems herself a nuisance…_

"Hey Diana."

Blue eyes flit upward to the girl now smiling and holding an earbud out to her.

"Do you wanna listen? I don't want to distract you, but I was just wondering..."

She pauses a moment and considers the invitation. Ultimately the pink cheeks and wide shining eyes on Akko's face render her incapable of refusal.

_Perhaps it's best our relationship doesn't go further… I'm not sure I could say 'no' to her during an argument._

"Sure. I'd love to."

"Alright!" Akko's smile turns into a wide grin as she excitedly all but shoves the bud directly into Diana's ear. "What kind of music do you want to listen to? I have a lot of stuff on here… Oh! How about we shuffle and you can tell me what you like?"

After closing the notebook on her lap, the blonde fumbles with the earbud, at last fitting it comfortably in her ear. "I am not overly picky in music selection, whatever you like."

"Okay! Shuffle it is!" She hits the button on her phone and it only takes a moment for the music to begin playing—

' **Dirty Diana - Michael Jackson'**

_Oh my god NO… maybe this was a bad idea._

"Let's skip that one!" Akko panics slamming her finger on the 'next' button hoping her music partner hadn't recognized the song. Thankfully, it doesn't seem she had based on the neutral expression on her face.

The two sit back and listen as the next song begins to play. Their shoulders brush and the warmth of each other's legs flare against the other due to the close proximity necessary for the headphones to not be tugged from either of their ears. Diana didn't mind the closeness, the reasoning for the position was logical, blameless—while Akko, who had not expected the result, silently pats herself on the back for having such a great idea.

Akko tilts her head back against the seat, closing her eyes, enjoying the music and the warmth of the girl beside her.

_Just relax. It's your first game back. You're gonna kick ass._

_Huh… I guess my pep talks really do rhyme… weird._

She opens one eye to check on Diana and finds that the blonde had taken to mimicking her position. She feels the light rise and fall of her breaths shift against her shoulder as she finds her cheeks warming at the strong scent of lavender coming off the blonde's clothing.

_I'm really happy we're friends. Even if she doesn't like me like_ _**that** _ _… at least she likes me a little..._

Akko closes her eyes and repositions her head as she smiles to herself.

_Now let's hope she likes my taste in music! Shuffle Gods! Take the wheel!_

And so they did, and they decided today, on the bus next to the girl plaguing her mind, to play love song after love song through Akko's earbuds.

_Come on! Are you kidding me? What's wrong with this playlist? She knows it's on shuffle, right? I don't want her to think I'm playing love songs for her! COME ON MUSIC, DON'T OUT ME TO HER!_

_(I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me,_

_I still feel your touch in my dreams.)_

_AHH! JUST KILL ME NOW!_

Meanwhile, Diana finds herself humored as she is struck with the realization that each song that plays fills her with thoughts of the girl sitting next to her. She tries to calmly level her breathing despite the feverish meter of her heart beat that pounds with every lyric she newly associates with the brunette.

Not that she particularly minded or was surprised, she's grown accustomed to the way her crush makes her heart race. Even though she is fighting to keep her mask in place, she sits comfortably beside the brunette listening along to the poppy rhythm of the song.

_Chance has such a cruel sense of humor..._

The music continues to play and eventually the nagging self-analysis silences as the two girls fall into quiet conversation.

"Wait...You don't know this one?" The blonde gives her an apologetic smile. "This was my  _favorite_  song in middle school! I don't really know a lot about music or anything, but you gotta re-listen to this piano bit at the beginning…here." Akko says taking the headphone out of her ear and giving it to Diana. "You need the whole experience."

"Very well." Diana laughs and takes the other headphone with a smile before putting it in her other ear. As Akko presses the play button and the melody begins pouring through the speakers of the headphones, Diana closes her eyes focusing on the sound of her crush's old favorite song.

Akko watches her and for a moment just takes in the other girl's profile, mesmerized by the flush of her cheeks and the peaceful expression laid across her features.

Her eyes trace from green and blonde bangs down the slope of her nose, past long eyelashes and taking pause in the valley between her lips. The light catching on the barely-there gloss of her chapstick only stokes the fantastical thought of leaning over and gently touching them to her own lips that had been running through her mind like wildfire.

_Stoooop._

She averts her eyes away from the blonde's mouth as a blush claims her face.

_What am I thinking? I mean I know_ _**what** _ _I'm thinking... But I_ _**can't** _ _think like that…_

She looks down into her lap where her hand sits only an inch or so from the blonde's leg resting softly against her own. Unlike their first bus ride together, the contact did not promote nearly as much panic, instead replacing it with a support— a comfort in the space they shared.

Her fingers itched to move just enough to touch the other girl's hand. Just enough to see if that spark like the first time would happen again, just enough to see if Diana would pull away or if she would silently accept the affection that had grown for her over the last few months. While she expected her feelings for the blonde to be affected by the act of regularly spending time with her, she did not at all expect herself to fall completely down the rabbit hole.

Or to see her at the gym in that muscle shirt… that sure didn't help…

Not that it was something she was particularly upset about...

She had never felt this way about someone before. Sure, she recognized that fact when she finally came to terms with her dream all those weeks ago, but this introduced a new feeling she wasn't so sure about.

Akko had always been one to jump into things with half a thought of how they would turn out. She had always put her entire being into accomplishing what she set out for, maybe not always coming up with success, but always, without a doubt coming up with a bright side in mind. She always knew things would be okay and that she would push through when obstacles got in her way— they were all challenges testing her resolve to achieving her dream. She hadn't been afraid of what could be, but now…

She felt trepidation on the high dive before the vast pool of possibilities and consequences of letting her emotions reign in regards to Diana. She didn't want to risk the smiles that became a more regular occurrence or the softened eyes she didn't remember seeing before they got to know each other. If she realized Akko's feelings for her, would Diana be repulsed and see their time spent together as a mistake? Would she see their friendship to be nothing more than a courting attempt? A betrayal of her generosity and kindness?

Akko isn't sure she could handle that.

So, with as much self-control as she can muster, Akko folds her hands in her lap and squeezes her eyes shut.

_I really don't want to mess this up..._

She takes a sigh and looks up to the blonde whose blue eyes were now looking back at her swimming with concern.

"Is something the matter?" She says removing a headphone from her ear. "Are you feeling ill?"

"Ah… oh no no. I uh was um." Akko's voice cracks under the pressure of her nerves.

_Think!_

"I had an itch! On my eyebrow. And um..." She squints her eyes so hard that when she reopens them it takes a moment for them to readjust to the loss of pressure, "Heh heh yup! All gone! Heh…"

Diana couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's demonstration. "Alright, Akko." She smiles as she holds out the headphone returning it to the brunette. "That was really a lovely song. I can understand why you would favor it."

_And now, it will be tied to my thoughts of you._

Akko smiles happily as she takes the earbud and puts it into her ear. "I'm glad you liked it! I played it so much I was afraid I would get sick of it. But nope!" She says tapping at her screen opening up her music library. "So, what's your favorite song?"

Diana's brows raise as a pink tint covers her cheeks.  _"_ Oh, I don't really…"

"Come on! Please! I let you listen to mine!"

"It's… a little embarrassing. I'd rather not…"

"Come on, Diana!" Akko whines poking the blonde's side eliciting a squeak followed by a defensive laugh. At the sound Akko's eyes widen with an evil glint.

Diana looks back at her with a warning in her glare. "No."

_She's. Ticklish._

As Akko continues to poke Diana in the side with the hope of her revealing the name of her favorite song through her helpless, muffled laughter, neither of them notices the shining blue eyes and smiling lips watching them from behind the pages of a book.

Diana's favorite song and a few others later, finally the bus turns into the lot of the opposing field. Diana returns the earbud with a smile and a thank you before taking her notebook and zipping it into her bag. Akko takes the headphone back with a smile and jams it into her bag not thinking about the knot it will inevitably be later before grabbing her bag and following Lotte and Sucy off the bus after Nelson's 'get ready' speech.

Diana watches her run off the bus with unbridled fondness before picking up her gear and taking a deep breath.

_Alright. Let's get serious._

* * *

She, Hannah, and Barbara (the latter two who were very protective of their shared conversation on their phone screens- careful not to let the blonde see their in depth analysis of the signs they saw between her and Akko) file off the bus only to be stopped by Amanda at the door.

"Hey Dee! Hold up a minute I want a word!"

The three girls turn to look at Amanda, Hannah and Barbara with pointed glares and Diana with a tired sigh.

"It's okay girls." Diana says looking back to Hannah and Barbara. "Go on ahead, I'll catch up with you shortly." She says with a smile.

"Alright, Diana." The two girls shoot Amanda one last sharpened glare before hesitantly heading towards the field.

Once she is sure they are far enough away she turns her attention to the redhead. "Yes, Amanda?" She says blankly, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of whatever reaction she is hoping to see.

"I wanted to ask you earlier but you seemed a little occupied… Which do you prefer?" Her eyes narrow into slits as her teeth bare a devilish grin. "Fielding in the TOP or the BOTTOM of the 7th?"

Diana's face turns scarlet, suppressing a scream as Amanda accompanies the enunciated words with crude gestures to her form.

_God no. That's it. She saw. I'm going to have to transfer schools._

"Th-that is completely inappropriate!"

"Wow, did you just pop a blood vessel? I know she looks good in those shorts, but geez don't hurt yourself. I'm not gonna force you to choose..."

Diana opens and closes her mouth like a fish as she tightens the white knuckled grip she has on her bat bag.

With a satisfied smirk Amanda walks away cracking her back before winking over her shoulder.

"Alright that's enough of that. You comin', Cavendish? Get your head in the game."

 

 


	18. Stepping Up To The Plate (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Akko's first game back after her absence and she is raring to go. With maybe just a little more desire to do well in front of *some* than before, she hopes that she hadn't forgotten anything during her time away. PART 1 of 2.

 

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"WITCHES!" The group of girls roar, arms exploding from the center of their group ring as per pre-game tradition.

"Alright ladies!" Croix yells clapping her hands. "We're at bat first. Cavendish, lead us off! O'Neill, Antonenko, England— get on deck!"

Breaking from their huddle, those called by the coach run to prep themselves for the batter's box while the rest take their places at the fence ready to cheer for the top of their lineup.

Next to the entrance of the dugout, Amanda approaches Diana as the blonde affixes a low ponytail to the base of her neck and fits her helmet. The moment she sees the other girl approach she turns her head away.

"Oh, come on, you know I was just playing." Amanda pleads half-heartedly as she grabs a helmet and pulls it over her head. "Nobody heard!"

Her pride bruised and still thoroughly embarrassed by their exchange after leaving the bus, Diana continues to ignore the redhead.

"Gahh!" She sighs. "I'm sorry, alright? If it makes you feel any better, I wouldn't be able to choose between the two either."

Diana twists her head towards the other girl, blue eyes shooting sharpened icicles right through her soul.

"There she is!" Amanda says happily, seeing that the blonde's ignoration tactic has crumbled to ruin, and smiles at her ineffective glare attack.

_Ah, what's the use…_  Diana squeezes her eyes and sighs as she succumbs to the acceptance of how pointless trying to ignore the redhead is. "You truly have no filter, do you?"

"Hah, nope." Amanda grins, satisfied with her win. She then wraps her arm around Diana's shoulders and lowers her voice, "But let me tell you, I'm loving the lack of denial… something happen between you two yet?"

"Nothing is happening, Amanda. Now please let it drop." She says slipping out from under the other girl's elbow. She pauses in thought for a moment before turning back to face the redhead. "Though, I have done some thinking lately… about… opening up to Hannah and Barbara."

"Oh yeah?" Amanda's eyebrows shoot up to the bill of her helmet as a genuine grin spreads across her lips. "That's a big step-"

"BATTER UP!" The umpire interrupts, calling from the batter's box as the Cockatrice's pitcher crouches into position.

"Ey." Amanda says before Diana turns away. "I'll deny it if you tell anyone 'cause I have a reputation of not being a sap to uphold... but I'm proud of ya Di."

The blonde freezes, taking in the words and the redhead's soft smile with the realization that there were a lot of things she hadn't heard since her mother's passing. It felt nice and it was definitely not something she would have thought she would feel from Amanda.

"Whatever you end up doing… I got your back."

Diana looks into genuine green eyes and through the comforting warmth radiating from her chest she feels a half smile tug at her lips. "I appreciate that... Thank you, Amanda…"

"Yeah, yeah, gross." She says with the wave of her hand. "Now, hurry up and go get the game started… We all got shit to do today."

Diana smiles, rolling her eyes before turning and making her way out to the field. However, before she can feel the dirt beneath her cleats she is deafened by a yell.

"LEZ GO CAV! KICK SOME  _ASS!"_ The 'ass', Amanda punctuates with a hearty  _SLAP_  to the blonde's rear. Diana jumps from the contact with a yelp and tightens her grip on her bat.

Icy blue eyes whip around, successfully striking the redhead with what looks like fear. The look only lasts for a moment before Amanda winces from the impact of Hannah hitting her in the back of the head with a spare helmet.

Hannah growls at the redhead as Diana blows a strand of hair from her face, gathering her pride and composure from the display of public humiliation, and turns back to the plate.

"LEAD IT OFF DIANAAAA!" Akko's voice rings through the air alongside the sound of shaking chainlink. "YOU CAN DO IT! WHOOOOOOOO!"

Her loud energetic voice is soon followed by a chorus of cheers from the rest of the team, setting a flare of adrenaline coursing through the blonde's body.

She steps up to the plate, shuffling her feet until happy with her position, and rolls her shoulder before cocking her bat back. The same pitcher as last time tosses the ball back and forth in her glove and brushes off the pitcher's plate with her foot.

"YEAAAAAHHHH DIANA!"

She chances a glance back at the dugout towards the jingling chain link barrier and the excitable brunette among her teammates.

_As expressive as always._ She allows herself a smile before refocusing her eyes back on the pitcher lining her fingers up with the laces of the ball.  _OK Diana, focus. Wouldn't want to disappoint…_

* * *

After Diana starts the inning off strong with a double, very happy that the pitcher had abandoned her tactic from their first game, the Witches' at bat ends earning two runs before changing hands to the other team.

As Ursula calls through the dugout assigning the girls their positions, Akko is surprised to hear that she will be playing the first through fourth innings. After a disbelieving "Are you sure?" to Coach Callistis, she grabs a ball and gleefully runs into the outfield alongside Lotte and Blair to warm-up their arms with game of toss. The soft crunch of the grass beneath her cleats fills her with joy as the last three weeks of its absence melts away leaving her overflowing with anticipation.

_Oh man, I didn't think I'd get to play the first half! This is the best first day back ever!_

After a few throws, Lotte tosses the warm-up ball off of the field to Coach Croix as the Cockatrice's lead-off batter steps up to the plate.

_Ah geez…. I reeeeeally hope I'm not rusty. No. Can't think like that. I've been doing my own practice and workouts and everything. I'm gonna do fine. It's all good. I've got this._

Her eyes drift to the large number 1 on the back of Diana's uniform as she jogs into position and lowers herself into a side lunge, loosely swaying from side to side. Akko takes a deep breath, raising her head to allow the sunlight to peek beneath the brim of her hat as she rubs some dirt into the palm of her mitt with her exposed hand.

_Besides, I still have a rival to beat._ She thinks, feeling a smile at her lips. _Alright karma, you owe me for all those love songs..._   _First game back. Let's show everybody what Kagari Atsuko can do._

The first inning proves to be, more or less, uneventful. Due to a spectacular display of pitching by Amanda and a double play by Barbara and Jasminka that had made Coach Ursula lose her footing from cheering, they manage to end the inning with their opponents only gaining a single run.

In the second inning, Akko lands a single to get onto base, followed by a push forward to second from a stunning drag bunt by Diana. Unfortunately, during Amanda's at bat, she is called out when the opponent shortstop snatches the redhead's line drive out of the air and tags her as she is diving back to second base. Despite this, her determination stays strong as karma makes a move during their next turn in the field.

Diana watches as the ball flies over her head towards Akko, charging deeper into left field. It looks as though it will to fly right past her until, as though in slow motion, the brunette leaps into the air, taking flight herself, catching the ball in her glove with a resonating  _clap_  of leather. She lands gracefully (relatively in her case) and throws the ball into the infield towards a stunned Diana. She barely registers the ball rocketing towards her before lifting her glove to catch it, her eyes busy trying to break their gaze from the brunette who seemed to have made a deal with gravity. The blonde catches the ball just in time to speed a throw towards Constanze who flawlessly makes the third out of the inning.

Their third inning goes by earning one run and gaining two against them. Highlights include a particularly impressive triple by Jasminka, a game ball worthy fake and steal to second by Hannah, Barbara earning a hole in the knee of her pants after a messy dive stopping the ball and getting the out on first, as well as a perfect catch by Blair in center field, foiling a very threatening double.

And at last it is the fourth inning. Akko wrings her hands around the grip of her bat as she steps up to the plate. After this inning, she will be switching places with Mary as she has done in previous games, meaning this is more than likely her final chance at bat and she is definitely feeling the pressure to make it count.

Lotte, a lone navy uniform on a field of yellow and brown, stands on second base poised to run at the sound of a hit. Ursula stands rigidly as first base coach, encouraging Akko with clapping hands as the brunette shuffles her feet around home plate.

_Okay. One out. Lotte's on second. This is my last chance and I NEED to show Sucy how much better I got so I can rub it in her face…_

Not out of malicious intent, of course, she just wanted to see what Sucy would do if she couldn't make fun of her crappy batting average.

_I just need to get on base…_ Akko takes a breath and cocks her arm back swaying slightly as she watches the pitcher ready her stance.

"LET'S GO AKKO!" Sucy cheers alongside Jasminka 'whoop'ing through a mouthful of sunflower seeds.

"GO! GO! KA- **GO** -RI!" Amanda chants as Constanze clanks two bats together in encouragement.

"Keep your eye on it Akko!" Ursula yells, hands cupped around her mouth.

_Hannah said to remember that she likes to pitch on the inside. Pssh, how could I forget? That bruise lasted for two weeks…_

"Come on…" she grumbles under her breath. "Let  _me_  hit  _it_ … not the other way around."

"YOU'VE GOT IT KAGARI!" Croix blows out a loud whistle with one hand to her mouth, the other clenched in her pocket. "SAME AS LAST TIME!"

Akko nods at the third base coach before honing in on the softball in the pitcher's hand. The girl on the mound focuses her gaze on the catcher as she brings the ball to her chest.

"YOU CAN DO IT SEVEN!"

The ball moves like a yellow blur around the pitcher's windmill. Upon its release, the sound of cheering fades to silence as she hyper-focuses on the ball hurtling towards her.

_Too low._

The ball flies by right into the catcher's glove with a smack and the umpire shouting "STRIKE!"

_Are you kidding me? That was so low?!_  Akko's eyes furrow as she reshuffles her feet.

"IT'S ALRIGHT AKKO! DON'T LET IT GET TO YOU! YOU'VE GOT THIS!" Diana yells forcefully from the fence.

"YOU'VE SEEN IT NOW AKKOOOOOOO!" Hannah and Barbara shout together clapping their gloves alongside the other girls cheering her on.

_It's okay. It's just one… no reason to worry. You are totally fine._

The pitcher catches the returning ball, settles herself back on the mound, and after a quick brush of the plate with her cleat she is readied in her stance.

_Just. Focus._

Akko squints her eyes as the pitcher winds up and whirls the ball towards her once more.

_It's still low… but…_

She swings her arms forward as the ball gets close but pulls back at the last second keeping her bat against her shoulder.

"BALL!" The umpire yells followed by a chorus of cheering from the Witches' dugout.

"GOOD EYE AKKO!"

"KICK ASS KAGARI!"

"WAIT FOR THE RIGHT ONE!"

"SHOW THEM WHAT YOU CAN DO AKKO!"

The brunette smiles, recognizing the blonde's voice through the shouting and whistles of her team. Her already adrenaline filled body is hit by another wave at the sound of her crush cheering her on.

_Okay Akko, you can do this. Come on. Just keep your eye on it. Show her what you can do…_

She watches as the pitcher falls again into step. She swings her arm through the motion, picking up momentum, and releases the ball with an aggressive grunt.

Akko takes a stiff breath as she watches the ball fly closer and closer. In an instant she tightens her shoulders, twisting her body as she swings the bat forward, and is rewarded with the sound of aluminum ringing through the air and the sight of the yellow ball sailing high and far between the right and center fielder.

Akko drops the bat from the follow through of her swing and sprints towards first to the sound of excited screaming. Pumping her legs forward, she watches as the ball hits the grass and the outfielders chasing after it as it rolls further away.

_HELL FRIKKEN YEAH!_

"Go! Go! Go!" Ursula yells as she makes the motion for Akko to round to second. Akko takes her eyes off the ball, steps on the corner of first base and uses the rubber's bounce to kick off to second.

"GO AKKO GO!" Lotte cheers through gasps as she steps over home plate, giving the Witches their fourth run to tie the score.

The brunette can't help but break into a smile as she charges onward, stealing a glance to the outfield noting that the fielders have only just gotten to the ball. Her legs carry her swiftly towards second and without another thought she rounds the base and rockets towards third spurred on by the sound of her teammates. As she charges towards third she sees Croix wave her forward as her face follows what Akko assumes to be the incoming ball based on the third baseman's raised glove.

"DOWN!" The lilac haired woman yells with a sweeping motion of her arms giving Akko the queue to drop down into a slide. The momentum carries her onto the base in a cloud of dirt before being tapped on the shoulder by the third baseman.

"SAFE!"

The Luna Nova Witches burst into wild hollering. Lotte jumps up and down tugging at Sucy's sleeve as the pink haired girl cheers with a toothy grin laughing at Amanda who is violently shaking the fence screaming "AKKO, HAVE MY BABIES!".

"Well done kid! Beautiful hit." Croix says with smile as she pats the huffing girl's back as she dusts off her newly orange pants. "You alright? That was a wicked slide." She pauses a moment before worriedly looking towards first base to see the assistant coach looking over nervously with tight shoulders and clenched fists.

"Yeah! I'm great!" Akko beams through hearty gulps of air as Croix gives Ursula a discrete thumbs up, instantly melting the other woman's tension.

"Good. Good to hear." The older woman smiles returning her hands to her pockets. "Didn't know you had that kinda power in ya Kagari, keep it up."

Akko can only giggle as she fights to calm her rapid breathing.

"Alright!" Croix shouts. "Let's keep it going Cavendish!"

After shaking the dirt from her hair and fixing her helmet, Akko lowers herself into a running stance as she watches Diana, blue eyes and a smile facing her, step out from the dugout and make her way to the batter's box. The blonde's smile grows at Akko's acknowledgement before shooting her a thumbs up, filling the brunette's cheeks with a non-exertion related blush.

Diana steps up to the plate and taps the head of the bat to the rubber before squaring her hips and pulling her arm back with a confident bounce.

"LETS GO DIANA!"

"BRING! AKKO! HOME!" Hannah, Barbara, and Amanda yell (not-so-innocently) before all pausing and turning their heads to glare at one another suspiciously.

The blonde bites her lip to suppress an embarrassed sigh as a light dusting of pink covers her face.

_You three… Okay. Ignore them. Focus._

Diana rolls her shoulder and narrows her eyes as the pitcher readies herself. The pitcher falls into step, and the moment her arm releases the ball Diana's shoulders drop as she watches the ball fly slowly and intentionally above her head.

_Honestly? Not this again!_

"Ball!" The umpire calls as the catcher throws the easily caught ball back to the pitcher.

Frustrated, Diana drags the dirt beneath her cleats as she resets her position beside the plate, rolling the grip of the bat between her palms. She sets her jaw as she brings her bat back and fixes the pitcher with an aggravated glare.

"Come on…" she growls under her breath. "At least bloody try..."

The next pitch follows the trend of the first with an overtly obvious throw outside of the strike zone. Unamused, Diana grits her teeth as the catcher returns the poorly thrown ball yet again to the pitcher.

_This is ridiculous…_

The pitcher winds up the ball again, yet again, to the blonde's frustration, the ball is pitched with the intent of keeping her bat away from a hit. However, this time the ball comes in low and as it drops, it ricochets off the back of the plate in a cloud of dust, bouncing between the catcher's legs towards the rear of the backstop. In an instant, the catcher spins in a hurry to get to the retreating ball. Amongst the yelling of both sides Diana jumps back from the plate and watches as Akko begins to tear down the third base line.

Cleats kicking up dirt and arms tearing at the air as though it will pull her further, Akko races towards home plate.

_Come on come on come on come on!_

"GO AKKO! GO!" Diana shouts watching between the catcher scrambling for the ball and the charging brunette.

Once she hears Diana's voice she is hit with a sudden feeling of deja vu. Flashbacks of her dream, running towards Diana… towards home plate... as a giant ball threatens to hit the blonde, (as well as ALL the parts that happen afterwards) flood back to her mind. Momentarily distracted by the heat crawling up her neck (not from exertion), Akko doesn't notice the catcher had retrieved the ball and is rushing the plate.

"Back! BACK! Go back, Kagari!" The head coach shouts from third base. Akko turns, reversing her body in a cloud of orange, sliding forward still before using her hands to propel her back towards third. Once she rights herself, it is to her surprise to see the third baseman charging towards her with the ball.

_No no no no no no no no!_

Stumbling over herself, the brunette turns again to run  _back_  towards home plate and the waiting catcher as she is being chased down by the third baseman. She looks over her shoulder to see the third baseman attempt a swipe at her, pushing her to pump her legs just a little faster in panic.

" _Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! CRAP!"_

The third baseman makes an underhand toss towards the catcher, and as Akko sees the yellow ball out of the corner of her eye, seemingly in slow motion, she dives head first in a desperate attempt to reach the plate. The deafening smack of leather hits her ears the moment her body hits the dirt, scraping her arms in its momentum as the wind is knocked from her lungs. Everything is black and all she can feel is the burning on her stomach, arms, and knees.

"SAAAAFE!"

At the umpire's call, the Witches burst into cheers over the brunette once again.

Akko pushes her head against the ground, a little disoriented from the haphazard dive. The movement pushes the bill of her helmet away from her eyes allowing the sight of her fingers laying on the rubber of the dirt covered base to fill her vision.

"Akko!" The brunette feels a hand on her arm helping her to push herself up. She shakes her head like a dog in an attempt to get her mind back in order and upon refocusing she looks up into bright blue eyes, a mixture of excitement and worry swimming in their depths. "Are you alright?!"

Akko blinks, looking up at the blonde angel leaning over her, more memories of her dream flashing in her mind. "Y-yeah, I'm good." She finds herself temporarily mesmerized by the way green and blonde hair messily frame Diana's face from beneath her helmet, a single strand stuck to her cheek leading to parted, smiling lips. It takes Akko a moment to snap out of her winded daze before tearing her eyes off the blonde and looking back to the ground processing what happened before the blue eyes infiltrated her thoughts. "Wait a sec. I'M SAFE!?"

Diana helps pull the shocked brunette to her feet, shaking her shoulders.

"Yes! But what were you thinking sliding like that?! That was so reckless!" Akko wasn't really sure how to interpret the blonde's reaction since it sounded like she was trying to scold her, but at the same time she said it all with a bright smile.

Diana halts her excited shaking and pulls the brunette into a quick, heat of the moment, teammate hug. "Well done!" Diana releases her, a spirited light shining in her eyes as Akko's face takes on a familiar shade of pink.

Not wanting to risk herself impulsively diving back in for another hug (or to delay the game any longer) a flustered Akko flashes Diana a toothy grin alongside a jumble of words that were supposed to be something along the lines of 'thank you' and 'good luck' before making her way towards the dugout, flashbacks of her dream repeating in her head.

_Wow. If getting good grades gets me smiles and scoring a run gets me a hug, I wonder what it takes to get a ki-_

_**SMACK!** _

"OHMYGOD!" Akko screams as she is knocked airborne by three hands aggressively making contact with the seat of her pants. Before she hits the ground, she is enveloped in a mass group hug by Amanda, Jasminka, and Constanze followed by Lotte excitedly dragging an admittedly impressed Sucy into the pile on.

* * *

The inning ends with an additional two runs passing home plate (Diana and Amanda, courtesy of 'Godsminka', as Amanda has affectionately coined).

It may have worked out for the best that Akko's final turn in the field ends up being more infield centric. Despite it being a little lackluster of a way to end her good streak, she might just die on the spot if her persistent flustered state soured the high note of her last hit.

The girls run into the dugout after the third out is called. With the score 7 to 6, the Witches in the lead, the team prepares themselves for the fifth inning.

"Alright ladies!" The lilac haired coach yells through the rustling of girls grabbing water bottles and exchanging fielding gloves for helmets. "Manbavaran, you're in for Strega, Robinson in for Kagari, and Bernhardt, go in for Yanson. Buckland, you okay pinch running for O'Neill? I'm afraid if that second baseman sees her face again, she won't hesitate to kick it."

"Sure, Coach!" Avery responds eyeing the pitcher as the redhead shrugs her shoulders with a false innocence in her vibrant green eyes. "We wouldn't want that to happen." She mutters sarcastically.

"Thanks Bae-very." Amanda says with a wink before gesturing to her face. "Don't want to damage the goods, ya know?" The purple haired girl looks away, unamused, with a roll of her eyes.

"Okay girls, let's get some runs!" Ursula expressively claps her hand against her clipboard as she leans against the outside of the dugout fence pole. "Constanze, lead us off. Sarah, Sucy, Mary, you're on deck. And then back to the top of the lineup!"

As Lotte and Akko settle onto the dugout bench, Coach Croix walks by with a pat to each of their shoulders. "Great work today, ladies." She says before looking directly towards the brunette. "I'm glad to see you hadn't lost your touch during your absence, Kagari. It's good to have you back."

The praise causes a light blush and a smile to spread cross Akko's face. "Thank you, Coach!"

The lilac haired woman leaves them with the tip of her cap and a proud smile as she heads over to talk to Ursula. The two older women share a few hushed words before stepping behind the dugout as the team prepares for their at bat. This catches Amanda's attention.

"Dude" Amanda elbows Akko in the side. "Forty bucks says the coaches are making out behind the dugout."

"Amanda! Staaahhp!" The brunette groans.

"Hey… dude I'm telling you. You're the ONLY ONE who's gonna be surprised when it comes out."

"Yeah… it's kinda obvious." Lotte says tilting her head sheepishly.

"They're probably just talking about Coach-y things!"

_I mean, it's totally fine if they are kissing! But I don't think they would do it in the middle of a game! Unless… that's a totally normal thing to do… in which case… hm..._

"Is that a bet? Cause I will totally sneak around back and watch." Amanda says with a smirk and a raised brow, instantly halting Akko's thoughts.

"No!"

"Come on!"

The inning is filled with howling cheers and hearty chants as the Witches make their way around the bases. Constanze rockets a ball across the dirt into center field getting her to first base. Following, Sarah skips a ground ball to the second baseman, allowing Constanze to showcase an impressive dodge as she avoids the opponent's attempt at a tag out. Lastly, Sucy hits the ball into right field just out of reach of the fielder, in result, bringing Constanze home and Sarah to third.

After restlessly screaming for the entire inning so far, Akko steps back from the chain link barrier after hearing her voice crack during an extended "SUCYYYyyy!" at her friend's double. She grabs her water bottle, unscrewing the top and gulps the lukewarm liquid in an attempt to soothe her newly sore throat.

"It's honestly a surprise you haven't once lost your voice this entire season-"

Akko spins her head around to see Diana approaching her with an amused smile. "I don't think I've ever been on a team with someone who was so dedicated to maintaining morale."

The brunette pulls the water bottle from her lips with a chuckle as the blonde bends over her own bat bag and pulls out a pair of batting gloves. "Welp, somebody's gotta do it! Besides, I hate just sitting and watching."

"Oh yes, I am aware." The blonde says with a small laugh, recalling every instance over the last three weeks that the brunette backed that particular claim up. "I realize I didn't properly get the chance to congratulate you on your hit."

"O-oh? Th-thank you."

_You mean the hug wasn't enough?!_

"Your placement was impressive, was that intentional?"

"Well…" Akko says with a blush as she scratches the back of her neck, "I  _hoped_  the ball would go that way, so even if it was caught or whatever Lotte could still be safe-"

"Wait…" Amanda cuts in between the two, "you actually think about that kind of stuff? That's uncharacteristically smart of you." Amanda shifts her attention to the blonde narrowing her eyes and raising her brow suggestively, "Just how much rubbing off did you do on her?"

Diana's 'prepared to object' face freezes and turns scarlet as Akko huffs, completely missing the innuendo.

"I always think about that stuff! I just… don't always make the ball do what I want it to… Don't underestimate my softball knowledge!"

"It's not the only thing I've underestimated…" Amanda says blankly, disheartened that the brunette latched onto  _that_  part of her comment. "Excuse me, I need a breather, the air's a bit too  _dense_  over here."

Akko looks towards a clearly humored Lotte, who shrugs as the brunette questions why Amanda was walking away.

Diana, relieved by the redhead's retreat, gratefully takes the chance to compose herself. After regaining her natural skin tone, she turns to see Mary walking her way to first base after getting her fourth ball.

"Ah, I best be going. Again...great job today, Akko. You never fail in keeping things interesting." She says with a smile before turning and heading to the opening of the dugout. "At this rate of improvement, you should have a very good shot at shortstop next year. I will have to step up my performance."

Akko is struck speechless by a bubbling giddiness rising from her chest to her throat as she watches the blonde go. She feels a grin take over her face as the bubbling turns to fire burning her cheeks and swirling in her eyes.

"You better! I don't want you going easy on me!" She shouts unwaveringly, causing the blonde to look back at her with a laugh from beneath her newly donned helmet.

"I wouldn't dream of it." She winks, abruptly spinning away in horror. Though it seems to have been hidden by the shade of her helmet, the action in itself dries her mouth as she scolds herself for being so careless.

_What was that?! Am I so taken that I am reduced to overt flirting? Bloody hell Diana, get yourself under control._

She steps up to the plate, completely lacking in her focus and rolling the grip of her bat in her hands.

_Though… I do wonder what would happen if... No… But... what if only just to see how she would react to an advance coming from me?… I would of course stop myself if it seems unwanted…_

She kicks at the dirt beneath her cleats digging herself a comfy foothold.

_I should be able to determine by her response whether or not she has any interest in me of that nature and then that should give me a definitive course of action._

She raises her elbows, cocking her bat back before looking straight into the pitcher's eyes.

_I do suppose now that she is not feeling obligated to attend study sessions with me, it will give her room to drift away if she doesn't feel the same._

The pitcher cradles the ball to her chest before stepping up to the apex of the pitching mound and falling into step.

_As much as I don't wish to risk our friendship, it's not fair for either of us if I continue to sit idly..._

"Lets go Diana!" Hannah and Barbara yell from the dugout followed by a chorus of cheers from the rest of the team.

_Though I don't wish to move too quickly..._

"Ball one!" The umpire calls the exceedingly outside pitch as Diana reshuffles her feet.

"YOU CAN DO IT DIANA!" Akko's voice breaks through the volume of the dugout.

_...she nor the thought will cease taxing my mind unless I do something._


	19. Stepping Up To The Plate (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an eventful first half, Akko takes the second watching from the dugout. Despite being done on the field, the rest of the afternoon continues to challenge her cardio. PART 2 of 2.

 

 

It's been an inning and a half since Diana's complement and Akko has been unable to take her thoughts off the blonde.

Her entire body was on fire. Was it from Diana's words? The stinging field burn? Akko isn't sure. All she knows is that she is overwhelmed by the amount of feeling she has bubbling up inside her and it all brings pictures of the smiling blonde to the forefront of her mind.

She smiles to herself as she replays their exchange over and over again in her head. She swears she saw the blonde wink at her, but there's no way… it was probably just a blink or a part of her overactive imagination. Nonetheless, it is a fixed event in her mental retelling.

With the toe of her cleat she absentmindedly draws a heart in the dirt, and another and another before getting bored with the repetitive shape and changing her scrolling to the letters D. I. A-

_Oh my god! What am I doing?!_

She looks around in horror at her thankfully occupied teammates as she begins frantically wiping her feet across the dirt floor in an attempt to erase any evidence. Once the ground is clear Akko stares wide eyed at the erased admission of her heart and mind's captor.

She looks up towards the field at Diana who is crouching in position, waiting patiently to move at Amanda's next pitch— and completely unaware of the effect she has inflicted upon the brunette.

_Ah! Man! It's totally not fair!_

_I REALLY like her…_

_I mean… I knew I liked her… but I've never felt anything like THIS before…_

_What was I thinking? I know I was letting myself try to get her to like me… and yeah I guess some of the things she said could maybe mean she might like me, but there's no way she'd like me like me like that. Right?_

_How did this happen?! Stupid feelings! Stupid!_

_Yeah...Akko… get a big stupid crush on the smartest, nicest, prettiest girl in the school… not to mention you have NO IDEA if she likes girls or not. Good idea. Way to go me..._

_I mean… I guess I didn't really choose to… but still...what am I supposed to do about that?!_

The brunette stares back down at the swept dirt beneath her feet before jumping at a movement at her side.

"Hey Akko," Lotte says as she sits down on the bench. "You got quiet. Is everything alright?"

"Oh yeah! Totally…" Akko says wide eyed with a nervous laugh before looking down once again to be extra sure her doodles have been wiped away. "Just eh… focusing on the game… super hard."

"I see," Lotte smiles, "Coach Meridies was absolutely right about everybody getting better. The other team is way different from the first time we played them. A lot has changed since the beginning of the season."

"Y-yeah definitely."

The two girls continue to sit and watch the game closely. At least, that's what Akko hopes it looks like she's doing. However, her charade is clearly shattered when she makes a revelation.

...

_Hey. Wait a second._

_Lotte might know what I could do! She reads a lot of love stories… Maybe she can give me some ideas!_

She looks over to the redhead watching the game determining how to word her question.

_Mmmmmm… maybe..._

After a few minutes of nothing Akko decides she has spent enough time thinking and decides to wing it.

"Hey, Lotte…" Akko attempts to drawl nonchalantly, "I was thinking... can I ask you something?"

The redhead pulls her attention from the field and looks at her questioningly. "Sure, I guess? About what?"

"Your Nightfall books… They're like... romance-y right?" Akko says TOTALLY inconspicuously as she looks at her nails.

"Well," Lotte considers the question thoughtfully, "I'd say they're more of a drama infused adventure story depending on the arc… but there are underlying romantic plot lines."

_Okay… keep it cool. Totally not suspicious._

"Were there any parts about one person liking another person but not being sure if that person liked them back?"

The redhead giggles as she thinks back to some of her favorite volumes. "Like, the first 209 books."

_Okay Akko… come on… you can do this. Just don't make it sound obvious..._

"Gee… uh that's a lot...um how... did that end?"

"Well… I wouldn't recommend it…. It involved a blood pact and a memory sacrifice."

_Well that doesn't sound very helpful..._

"Uh… geez."

"Why do you ask. Did you want to read?" Lotte asks excitedly.

"Oh… eh…" Akko tries to backpedal as kindly as possible. "N-not particularly… I was just wondering what someone might… do... in that type of situation."

"Oh?"

Akko starts to sweat as her friend looks expectantly at her.

_Oh no. This was a mistake. I did not think this through WHY DID I NOT THINK THIS THROUGH?! Ok ok just ask the question, I can fix this..._

"Like...say… I don't know… let's pretend I liked somebody a bunch… like a  _bunch_  a bunch…. what do you think I should, hypothetically, do if I don't know if they like me back?"

_Nailed it._

"Well… it depends on what the person's like, I guess…"

_Guh… okay… That backfired._

"Well… let's say they're super hard-working and good at everything, really good looking..."

"Okay… but what are they  _like?"_

Akko pouts her lip and scratches her cheek nervously as she tries to narrow down all her favorite things she's grown to learn about the blonde that will not instantly give away her identity.

"Well, they can make you really nervous cause they can come off like they think they're better than you but actually they're really thoughtful... and nice,"

Lotte hums waiting for more as Akko racks her brain.

_Come on! Why is this so hard? I mean… there's plenty I can say but… I don't want to outright say it…_

_I mean, I guess as long as I don't say it's Diana it could totally be about anybody, right? Totally. I should just tell her what really think…but like… not?_

She takes a moment to think about all the little things she's found herself drawn further and further into the blonde by over the last few weeks.

_She scrunches her nose after she sneezes, she always wipes away that one hair from her forehead when she's reading, the way she sticks her pinky out when she drinks anything, that cute way she taps her pencil against her bottom lip... I keep thinking about so many of the little things that anybody can do… but when she does them, it's just… different. But that doesn't really tell what she's like..._

"Well...they're funny without really trying and they care a lot about their friends...They're maybe a little scared to let other people see them with their guard down… but when she does it's like she can put you under a spell with the sound of her laugh…" Akko says as a smile pulls at her lips. "She's modest...and inspiring to be around, and I don't think she knows it, but when she smiles, she can make everything brighter. She makes me feel warm and funny when we talk and I don't know… I think…"

She looks up at Lotte who is looking at her with a knowing smile. Akko panics with a cough.

"Oh-um… I think they're just really cool."

"It sounds like you really like this person." The redhead says, comfortably folding her hands in her lap as Akko shrugs her shoulders in response. "Does Diana know you feel this way about her?"

"I don't think so… I mean I've tried t- Wait!" She snaps her head to the side red eyes boring into her friends. She lowers her voice into a whisper, "I didn't say it was Diana..."

Lotte looks at her with kind eyes and a raised brow.

Akko desperately tries to hold the redhead's gaze as to deny the identity of the subject of their conversation. A few seconds in she cracks under the pressure of her friend's knowing eyes.

"Ahh! How'd you know that?"

Lotte gives her a comforting smile as she bumps her friend's shoulder. "I've had a feeling."

She groans in embarrassment before her heart stops and her eyes threaten to pop out of her head. "WAIT! Do Amanda and Sucy know?"

Lotte's expression turns sheepish as she scratches the back of her head. "I don't know for sure, but I think Amanda...may have an idea…"

"Oh man!" She sighs and hangs her head in defeat, "I guess that  _would_  explain a lot… ahhhh!"

After Akko's embarrassed groaning subsides Lotte puts her hand on the brunette's back, and pats her shoulder. "Are you gonna be okay? I didn't want to just come out and say it, but you were hinting like you really wanted to talk about it…"

Akko takes a deep breath and lets out an exasperated sigh before raising her head. "Yeah… I'm fine… and I guess this would make things a little easier…"

"I won't say anything to anybody… I just wanted you to know you have somebody to talk to if you wanted." She smiles sympathetically, "It's confusing when you keep it all in your head."

Akko interlocks her arm with the other girl's and pulls her into a small hug. "Thanks Lotte…"

The redhead girl squeezes the brunette's arm, returning the half embrace. They sit quietly for a few moments watching the game progress as Amanda throws another strike over the plate.

"I don't know what to do…" Akko mumbles quietly staring unfocused towards the field. "I really like her… and I don't know if I have a chance… heck… what could someone like her even see in me… And I mean, I don't think I really know what love is or anything… but I think that what I'm feeling might get there one day… but I don't even know if she would even consider liking a girl…"

Akko sighs, prompting Lotte to look over at her thoughtfully waiting for her to continue.

"I just feel that, I like whatever we have... but I really want to be closer… but I don't want to ruin all of it."

The two sit quietly as Lotte formulates her response. A troubled look grows on Akko's brow until Lotte lifts her hand and adjusts her goggles.

"Well, if you think you have something that you think could one day be love, it's not really my place to tell you how you should go forward. But with that said… I think you should do what your heart says."

Akko turns her head to face the redhead prompting her to continue.

"You know her better than I do… but Diana doesn't seem like the type to walk away from somebody over something like that. What you have might not be the same afterwards, but if you feel that it could be worth the risk… I think you should do what feels right. You never know after all," she says with a smile, "Diana seems to have opened up a lot more since you two have gotten closer… even Barbara said she notices her smiling more than she used to." Lotte squeezes Akko's arm still wrapped in her own. "I guess what I'm trying to say is don't discount yourself...you may feel like she's out of your league, but if you made an impact like that on her, you probably mean more to her than you think."

_Besides, it's not really hard to see by the way she looks at you… but I'll let you figure that out yourself._

A slight pink hue dusts the brunette's cheeks as she looks down to her lap. "Do you think so?"

"I do." Lotte nods her head. "Anybody could tell you that you have a way of bringing out some of the best parts of people. It makes you you… and that's special."

"Thanks Lotte," Akko says with a shy smile, before taking her free arm and wrapping it around the redhead, pulling her into a full hug. The two girls stay like that for a moment before Akko pulls away with a sigh.

"But I still don't know what to do!"

"Well…" Lotte laughs, "in my books they leave little hints and subtle flirtatious remarks to see how the other person reacts. I wouldn't move too fast though…"

"I guess that makes sense-"

_TING!_

"Go go go!"

The two girls lift their heads to the field just in time to see Mary dive into the grass just barely catching the ball in the tip of her glove.

Akko jumps up out of her conversation, yelling at the top her her lungs to support her fellow left fielder. "WHOOOOOO! YEAH MARYYYY!"

"GREAT CATCH MARE!" Avery and Blair yell standing at the fence a little further down the dugout as the dark-haired girl jumps up from the ground with bright green grass stains on her pants. Smiling ear to ear, she throws the ball back to a whistling Amanda and begins running towards the dugout with the rest of the team to prepare for their next at bat.

With the end of their conversation imminent as the other girls filter into the dugout, Lotte turns and smiles at the brunette. "Just do what comes naturally, and remember you've got me and Sucy behind you no matter what."

Akko returns a heartfelt smile to her friend, "Thanks again, Lotte."

* * *

At the end of the game, the Witches pile onto the bus with another win on their record.

To Akko's delight, Diana invites her to sit together on the ride back and in return, offers her a re-tangled headphone to the gratefully accepting blonde. This time around, neither feel the slight dread from the randomly playing love songs, instead allowing their minds to consider them as a nudge forward in support.

While the thought of instigating an attempt of experimental flirtation crosses both of their minds, they instead sit content in the moment flush against one another for the duration of the ride.

They melt into the warmth of one another, each hoping the other does not dislike the leaning pressure on their shoulders.

As the two sit comfortably and talk between songs, Akko is reminded that Finnelan is returning their grades for their most recent biology project today. Diana says that by the time they get back to the school she should be finishing up with her office hours, so if they were to run to the biology office as soon as they get back, they should be able to make it. Otherwise, as Akko suggests, they would have to wait until after the weekend to get their grades, which, based on the blonde's aghast expression, Diana deems unacceptable.

Once they arrive back at Luna Nova, Akko hands her bat bag off to Lotte and Sucy and says that she will meet up with them in the locker room after she picks up her project grade. Diana does the same with Hannah and Barbara before heading off to the science teacher's lounge with the brunette, which Akko admits, she has never once been to before.

Never did Akko think that she would be rushing to see Professor Finnelan after school for anything other than detention. And of all things to rush for, she wasn't overly excited to see this particular grade. While she had been doing better in the class and she remembered being confident with the material when she was working on this project, depending on the grade she could be in danger of falling back into academic probation. She had just gotten back on the team and she would have  _at least_  liked to be blissfully unaware if only for the weekend, but even though she had not been overly pressured, she could not say no to Diana asking if she would like to join her to get their grades.

_This won't be so bad… besides, maybe Professor Finnelan won't be so mean if Diana's right there…_

She looks over to the blonde speed walking beside her as they make their way down the hall. Diana's eyes trained forward as she narrows her lips in worry.

_How can she look adorable worrying about getting a class grade? I can't believe I keep forgetting that she's a total dork underneath everything._

"This is an important mark for you, is it not?" Diana asks turning her head towards the brunette.

"A-ah, a little bit." Akko half smiles sheepishly as she tries to pretend she hadn't just been caught staring. Diana had worked with her in determining what kind of grades she needed to get in order to be in the clear and this project was the last she had accounted for. "I'm pretty nervous about it…"

"If what you demonstrated during our studies was anything to tell, I'm quite certain you've got nothing to worry about," the blonde smiles reassuringly as Akko tries to hide the heat from showing through her cheeks.

The two girls turn the corner of the hallway just as they see Professor Finneran pull her keys out to shut the door of the office.

The older woman turns her head to the sound of rushed footsteps and upon noting her students she stops the door from closing. "Oh, good afternoon Miss Cavendish, Miss Kagari."

"Good afternoon Professor." Diana greets as Akko forces a smile to her lips at the presence of the biology teacher. "I apologize for coming so late, we just got back from an away game. We were hoping we might be able to receive our project grades before the start of the weekend, if that is no trouble."

"It is no trouble at all," the older woman looks down at the two girls as she pockets her key. "Just give me one moment ladies."

As Professor Finnelan re-opens the door to the office and walks in to grab their papers, Akko takes a deep breath catching the attention of the blonde. Diana looks over at the the girl with poorly concealed crossed fingers and nudges her with her elbow, drawing red eyes into blue.

Diana doesn't say a word, but her soft eyes and the smile tugging at the corner of her mouth put her at ease, if only for the moment it takes before their professor is back in front of them holding their folded reports.

"Thank you, Professor." Diana says taking the paper in her hands as she watches Akko reach for hers hesitantly.

_Here goes…_ Akko thinks taking the paper in her hands and unfolding it to see the red marked grade at the top.

_91%?!_

Akko's eyes stare wide eyed at the number at the top of the page before looking for her name to make sure it was her paper and not given to her by accident. Surely enough she sees her name just as she had written it.

"I passed?" She says bewildered as Diana looks at her with an expression that might as well have said 'I told you so'.

"I'd say you did a bit more than that." Professor Finnelan says with an odd smile. "I must say I'm impressed Miss Kagari. Your improvement has not gone unnoticed and I'm glad to see you taking your work seriously. It's good to see miss Cavendish's influence seems to have rubbed off on you."

Akko turns to face the blonde with a big grin to which she is met with a tight quirk of the lips.

The older woman takes the keys from her pocket and locks the office door before turning back to her students, "Enjoy your weekend, ladies. Keep up the good work."

"Thank you, Professor!" Akko says cheerily while Diana wishes her a good evening as they watch the biology teacher walk away.

Akko looks down again at the paper in her hands, completely in awe of the number at the top.

_I can't believe it…"_

Akko takes her eyes from the paper and settles on the blonde in front of her as she looks at her own paper. "Thank you so mu-"

"She's wrong, you know." The blonde says, a troubled look in her eyes stopping Akko mid word. "I had said it earlier, but Akko, you do know  _you_  are the one who earned your grade."

"I mean… I guess so… but I don't think I could have done that well without you helping me."

"I may have helped you get yourself on track, but know your achievements are your own. With how hard you've worked to improve, you should not attribute your getting back onto the team to anyone but yourself. You are far more capable than you give yourself credit for, and once you believe that of yourself, you will be able to do anything"

Aside from the trembling paper in her hands, Akko stands quietly, touched by words she had never really considered.

_D-does she... really mean that?_

She looks into the blonde's eyes, strong yet pleading cerulean bore into her shaken burgundy. She feels a tingle in her nose and a massive grin begin push at her cheeks as she lets her emotions take the reigns.

Upon noticing that the brunette has not moved in a few moments, Diana sheepishly lowers her eyes, self conscious of whether her words may have been too much. "I apologize if that was a bit out of place, but I feel you should know tha-"

The brunette leaps towards her, silencing her as she wraps strong arms around her shoulders, pulling her close. Before she can think to stop, she leans in and feels her lips press against the blonde's.

The electricity coming off the touch of her soft lips reminiscent of the spark that had traveled through fingertips all those weeks ago only lasts for a moment before the feeling of frenzied butterflies bring Akko into hyper awareness.

_Holy shit…_

Akko's eyes shoot open in realization. She pulls away from the kiss, despite the almost magnetic pull begging to re-close the distance. Still close enough to feel the blonde's shallow breath against her lips, she sees Diana staring back at her with wide blank eyes and her mouth hanging slack on her ghostly pale face.

Akko jumps away horrified at what she's done as Diana stands frozen in shock, barely registering the words coming out of the brunette's mouth.

"G-gommen. I- I'm sorry. I. Um. I d-didn't mean t-to... I'M SO SORRY!" Bright red, Akko screams as she does the first thing to come to her mind— run.

Diana blinks, gradually regaining coherence from her stunned trance and turns her head just as Akko turns the corner down the hallway leaving only the sound of her cleats hitting the ground and her dropped biology project paper to indicate that she had indeed been there a moment prior.

Brows furrowed and her face blossoming with color, Diana's focus blurs as she lifts her fingers to her lips replaying and trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened.

_Sh-she… just... She just… ki… m… D… Does… that mea..._

"Diana?"

She can't hear her name over the sound of the thrumming pulse beating in her ears and the half formed realizations churning in her head. As she recovers from her shock, standing in the middle of the hallway hand still at her lips and a conflicted crease in her brow, Hannah and Barbara come down the hallway with their and Diana's belongings.

"Diana?" Hannah asks quietly as if not to startle her. She and Barbara had turned the corner just in time to see her and the brunette's exchange, and as ecstatic they were to see that, at last, progress was being made, their joy turned to worry as they watched Akko sprint down the hallway leaving their friend frozen in place in the middle of the hallway.

"Hey, Diana?" Hannah tries again, this time resulting the the blonde jerking her attention towards them looking like a deer in headlights. Her hand clenches, still brushing against her lips as her face fills completely red and her eyes dart between her nearing friends in panic.

* * *

_Oh my god oh my god what was I thinking? I wasn't thinking! Oh god what did I do!?_   _I'M GONNA HAVE TO TRANSFER SCHOOLS!_

Akko takes off down the hallway towards nowhere in particular. Her heart races threatening to jump out of her chest, be it from her sprinting pace or from the residual memories of the fact that she _just kissed_ Diana Cavendish.

Without a formal decision, her legs carry her to her locker room as her imagination puts her through the ideal scenario of shutting herself inside her locker. Maybe by some strike of chance it will be left unlocked and she can hide without anyone looking for her so she die of starvation over the weekend in peace. Not peace. Complete agony.

_Stupid stupid stupid! I just ruined everything! She's never gonna want to talk to me again! Stupid feelings! You were supposed to go slow! I shouldn't have talked to Lotte about any of this!_

She races down the person-free hallway to the locker room and sees that the door had been left open.

"OH THANK GOD!" She cries as she crashes through the door. It takes only a second to register the sight of her two coaches kissing at the bench in front of her locker, Professor Ursula cupping Coach Croix's face as the lilac haired woman is kneeling on the ground between her legs.

"OHMYGODI'MSOSORRY!" Akko screams covering her eyes as she spins around to leave, managing only to ram herself head first into the door as it bounces back from forcefully hitting the wall.

"AKKO!—" Ursula jumps up in shock, knocking Croix away before a loud snapping is heard as she begins to fall backwards.

"CHARIOT!" Croix yells, catching her arm as Ursula's glasses, left leg, as well as a second limb that had been sitting on the English teacher's lap clatter to the ground and skid across the floor.

"CROIX!" She admonishes the other woman in a panic, looking over to their student as she holds tightly to the woman keeping her up.

"Shit..." The lilac haired woman whispers as she pulls the assistant coach back onto the bench. She looks at her apologetically before picking up the other woman's fallen glasses. She turns with a start, patting her pocket before frantically running her eyes across the floor.

"Wait." Akko rubs her door-stamped forehead as she looks at the prosthetic legs strewn across the floor in horror. With a scrunched brow and a cocked head she looks up at her flushed, guilty looking professors, the place Professor Ursula's left leg should have been, and then back down at the legs sitting on the floor as she tries to connect any two dots. Nothing made sense, but through the whirlwind of thoughts running through her head she manages to latch onto one thought in particular...

_Did… Coach Croix just say..._

"Chariot?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off.
> 
> You made it! I know you've been waiting for it and finally its here- the Chariot reveal!
> 
> (And Akko's impulsive kiss, I guess...but yeah...)
> 
> Second. Holy crap guys, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STICKING WITH ME THROUGH 100K WORDS! I couldn't have expected it while writing, but it's fitting that this chapter marks it. The next one was one of my favorites to write- I had it in my head while writing chapter 2 and ngl it was a huge drive to get me to this point. I hope you liked this one and I hope you like what's coming up next! EXPLANATIONS WILL BE MADE!


	20. Instant Replay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MEANWHILE IN THE LOCKER ROOM!

  

 

**\- IN THE LOCKER ROOM, APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES EARLIER-**

"Alright girls, make sure you have all your things before we lock up! If you leave anything here now you're just going to have to wait until Monday." Croix yells into the locker room as her hand fidgets in her pocket. "Is everybody good?"

"Yes Coach!" A majority of the girls call in response as they finish changing and prepare themselves to leave for the weekend.

Hannah and Barbara, without any actual verbal communication, split Diana's belongings and sling their bags over their shoulders and make their way out of the locker room to go find the blonde. As Lotte and Sucy wait to walk out with Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka, they do the same and gather Akko's things— Sucy insisting on carrying the brunette's heavier bat bag leaving Lotte with Akko's disconcertingly light backpack.

After managing to convince Amanda to fully dress herself before leaving the locker room, the lilac haired coach wishes the remaining girls a nice weekend before not so subtly shooing them out. Once the sound of footsteps and the rambunctious redhead's laughter fades, she takes a moment to look around her beloved, familiar locker room as a wave of worry washes over her features. Nelson, standing beside her puts a hand on her shoulder.

"You've got the keys to lock up?" The Varsity coach asks meeting her with brown eyes.

"Chariot should have them inside. Don't worry, I'll be sure everything's shut tight." Teal eyes meet the shorter woman.

"Try not to forget." She says taking her hand from the lilac-haired woman's shoulder and patting her on the back. "And don't get carried away… this is school property y'know?"

Croix's face turns beet red as the other woman,  _her old coach_ , laughs.

"Good luck, kiddo. And I hope to hear good news on Monday." Nelson says with a final pat on the back before taking her leave. "You've done good Meridies. Enjoy your weekend."

After taming the blush on her cheeks, Croix takes a deep breath as her eyes sweep over the room, taking note of the empty lockers and the clear floor.

_Alright... So there should be no reason for anyone to need to come back in…_

She walks down the line of lockers, the sound of clanging metal rings through the relatively small room as she closes each door one by one. She stops at her old locker and rests her fingers on the handle as memories of her time as a student changing in this very corner of the room run through her mind. She smiles softly before shutting the locker as she had the others and lowers herself to sit on the wooden bench.

The familiar vantage point prods at her insides, slowly waking the resting butterflies within. She looks across the room towards one locker in particular, remembering an energetic red-haired girl pulling a uniform over her head from a time long before. A shy smile pulls at the sides of Croix's mouth as she looks down to her lap. With her memories come a reminder of all the feelings of insecurity, confusion, and overwhelming fondness she once had for the very girl now getting herself ready to go back to their apartment in their shared car. Hopefully.

_Don't be ridiculous. It's going to be fine. You can do this. You've been planning this for months… You can't lose your nerve._

Croix wraps her hands around the edge of the bench, squeezing tightly, hoping that she too could exhibit the steadiness the old wooden bench has maintained over it's long years. She pushes herself up off the seat, brushing her fingers against its surface before walking towards the coach's office. She takes a deep breath, gripping the handle of her gear bag with a short prayer before reaching to open the door.

"Hey, Char, you ready to go?" Croix asks peeking her head around the door to the sight of the assistant coach with her left pant leg rolled high and its corresponding leg in her hands.

"I… thought I was…" The blue haired woman says with a grunt as she adjusts the sleeve at the top of a narrow aluminum limb, "but this damn thing slipped again, I think there's something wrong with the socket…"

Croix moves her whole body into view, blocking the doorway to the office. "Here, do you want me to take a look at it?"

"No… It's alright. I think I've just about got it…" She says with a focused pout of her lips after another moment of fiddling with her leg. After making a few quick rotations and testing its weight bearing she hums satisfied before rolling her pant leg down. "I think it should be fine, at least until we get to the car."

"Are you sure you don't want me to take a look at it?"

"No, really, it's fine," Ursula says with a smile waving her hand as she turns to collect her things from her desk, "I just can't believe it slipped while I was cheering... in the FIRST inning. That is so embarrassing."

"At least you didn't fall." Croix says with a shrug trying to look at the bright side.

"Always the optimist huh?" Ursula says sarcastically.

"Oh, you know me."

"Better than most, I'd imagine." She says with a smile and a wink as she turns to lock the office door and head towards the exit of the locker room. "Which is why I'm curious as to why you had me use this old prototype instead of the other prosthetic. I thought you said you fixed it last night?"

"I did." Croix says as she looks away from the other woman's eyes. "And well, I didn't want to give it to you before because I wanted you to have time to get used to its new added features." She accents with a wiggle of her eyebrows as she walks beside her.

"What on Earth are you on about?" Ursula laughs.

"Oh you know... coffee maker, rocket powered thrust, the standard."

"You're hilarious..."

"And you are the only one who seems to think so." She smiles stopping by the locker room bench. "Here, let's take it for a test drive, huh? Take a seat in front of your old locker."

Ursula stops in her footsteps and whips her head around to face the other woman, red eyes swimming in confusion. "Wait, you had it with you this whole time?"

"Well, yeah… just in case… you know…" Croix looks up at the walls clearing her throat, trying and failing to convince Ursula of a good excuse. "Eh...erm...Come on, sit down. I'll get the door."

Still looking unsurely at the strangely behaving woman heading towards the exit, Ursula ultimately obeys and lowers herself onto the bench space in front of her old locker. She looks behind her fondly at the same dented, navy painted metal door as she had used all those years ago. She remembered making a particular dent with the bottom of her bat (accidentally!) after a rough game, and while she does feel a slight sense of pride seeing it, it gives her mixed feelings to see that the school has not tried to repair any of it.

_Alright… this is it._  Croix thinks as she pushes at the door, unaware that instead of clicking shut, the lock bounced from the door frame leaving it open the smallest of cracks. She turns back to the blue-haired woman to see her rolling up her sweatpants to reveal the first prosthetic leg she had ever designed. She squints looking at the limb with a twinge of embarrassment. "I guess I couldn't tell behind the dugout, but I didn't realize how rough that one was looking, I guess it had been holding up pretty well for...what? Four years?"

Ursula furrows her brow and looks at her cocking her head. "Is that really how long it's been?"

"Yeah, now that I think about it," Croix says walking over to the blue haired woman, placing her bag down and kneeling in front of her taking a closer look at the beat-up limb. "It was a little before I left the practice, right?"

At this, Ursula lowers her head and defensively folds her hands in her lap, "I'm sorry about that."

Teal eyes look up to meet guilty red before Croix takes the other woman's hands in her own. "You have nothing to be sorry about. I know you still think it's your fault, but leaving that physical therapist job was the best decision I ever made."

"-that you were forced to make." Ursula corrects, lowering her eyes.

"And I couldn't be happier about choosing you over that moral code." She smiles up at her squeezing her hands. "Besides, I like these kids, I like working with you, and I like stepping out onto that field every day... I don't really like teaching computer lab, but until that physics position opens up I'll be fine with it."

A small smile spreads across Ursula's lips as she moves her hands to rub at Croix's knuckles.

"I also really like watching Finnelan's grey hairs come in." Croix says turning her face to complete seriousness causing Ursula to let out a small laugh. "I don't know what she's doing, but that Amanda O'Neill is doing things to that woman I could only dream of achieving."

Ursula lifts her hand from her lap to cover her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter. "Anne's not that bad."

"You and I have very different recollections of her biology class. I swear, when she looked at me during our last faculty meeting I could feel the daggers being shot at me."

"Well it's your own fault for taking her college credit class and calling her out on a mispronunciation. For someone so smart… you didn't think that one through." Ursula winks.

Croix merely shrugs her shoulders with a smile as she thinks back to the day her former professor accidentally said orgasm instead of organism; not at all regretting her decision to ask her to repeat her sentence.

"And to be fair," Ursula continues, narrowing her eyes as a smirk creeps on her lips, "anyone would have been intimidated by how good you looked in that blazer and tie."

"Oh, naughty." The lilac haired woman flashes a sly grin. "I thought for sure you didn't like it by how quick you were to take it off me afterwards…"

A blush lights up the assistant coach's face as she finds herself unable to keep up with the flirty banter. She nervously looks around as if to make sure no one could hear them. "Croix! We shouldn't talk like that, we're still in the school..."

"I'm pretty sure no one can hear us, but very well… I suppose I'll just keep how  _ravishing_  your pants looked at that faculty meeting to myself then…"

The blush persists on Ursula's face as she pouts her lip and looks to the side shamefully. "Though... I don't see the harm in continuing this conversation when we get home…"

"Oh? Is that so?" Croix says with mock surprise and raised eyebrows. "Well then, let get this show on the road," she says jokingly with a smile as teal eyes drift down to the bag beside her and then back up to the same ruby irises she had been lost in since their teens.

_There is not a single doubt in my mind… I have waited long enough._

"Here, let me get this off..." Ursula says as she begins to roll down the sleeve midway up her left thigh.

"Ah, leave it on for a sec." Confused eyes return as the English teacher halts her action. Croix reads her questioning look and responds with a shrug and a look that can't quite meet the other woman's eyes. "In case you hate it and want to run away."

"Ha. Ha." Ursula rolls her eyes with a smile before removing her hands from her cuff and folding them neatly in her lap.

"Alright, here goes…" The head coach mumbles more so to herself than the woman in front of her as she turns to unzip her bag. "So, I have made a few aesthetic adjustments as well as to the functionality, so take a look and tell me what you think." Her fingers tremble just the slightest as she pulls the zipper down the bag revealing a much newer looking titanium prosthesis. She lifts the leg and nervously presents it to Ursula as she runs her thumb over a set of grooves she had painstakingly etched onto the top of it's foot.

"It looks perfect Croix, I-" She sits the metal leg on her lap and stalls when she notices the scrawled message on the foot. Red eyes squint as Ursula angles her head and pushes her glasses up her nose to read the neat, yet clearly handwritten cursive.

' _To my dearest Chariot,_

_I will be here to support you every step of the way._

_With more love than I could have imagined possible,_

_Croix'_

Ursula takes in a shaky breath as an emotion filled smile fills her face. As she rereads the engraving and a bloom of warmth erupts in her chest rising to warm her cheeks, she doesn't notice the other woman reach into her jacket pocket.

"Croix," she says unable to contain her smile, "that's beautif-" She looks to Croix and immediately covers her mouth with her hands, tears springing to her eyes as she sees the other woman on one knee before her holding out a small black box.

"Croix… what are you…?" Shocked, she looks down at the woman before her, eyes locked on her own and in her hands a small open box presenting a yellow gold engagement ring adorned with seven small twinkling stones.

"Ten years ago today I announced in this locker room that I had been accepted to my first choice university." The kneeling woman begins, eyes determined yet vulnerable holding strong to the other woman's. "It was both the happiest and most heartbroken I had ever been because as I saw you sitting in front of your locker lacing up your shoes after the game, it was the moment I realized that it meant I would have to move away from home, from this place I loved, from you."

Croix clears her throat before swallowing the nerves bursting through the veil of adrenaline as she continues to the feelings of fire and ice washing over her. "Even though I had never said anything that would indicate how I felt, Chariot, you had taken up a permanent place in my heart and mind since you asked me to play catch with you during your freshman tryout. After that day, although I didn't truly understand them at the time, the feelings I had for you grew stronger and stronger, and today marks the anniversary of when I finally realized what the strength of what I felt for you meant. My heart is yours Chariot, and it has belonged to you every day since we met."

For the first time she averts her gaze away from the wide eyed woman's face and instead glances at the metal limb across her legs. "And while I feel absolutely horrible saying this, the day you came into my office for rehab was the happiest day of my life. I never thought I would see you again, and after watching you advance and go professional, I never imagined you'd remember some girl from a grade up you used to play high school ball with. But that day, when you came in and said my name with that same beautiful smile on your face, remembering me even after all this time despite the trauma you had gone through, I just about cried." A smile graces her lips at the memory of the day as she blinks back the moisture forming in her eyes. "And then to find that you, by some miracle, by some spectacular magic, had kept a place for me in your heart...I will never be sure what I could have done to deserve such an honor."

With a breath, her burning teal eyes re-affix unwaveringly on misty red. "Chariot DuNord, I love you, and no matter what challenges we may come to face I want nothing more than to have you by my side. Will you marry me?"

Through the entirety of the speech Ursula's eyes remained locked onto the woman in front of her as she hung on every word. It was only a second after Croix finished asking the question that she was sure was running through both of their minds, that Ursula's hands fly away from her pinkened and tear streaked face and wrap around the older woman's neck.

"Yes! Yes, Croix." She cries happily into lilac hair as the other woman lets out a relieved shudder of a breath before wrapping her arms around Ursula's waist. The blue haired woman takes her arms from around Croix's neck and cups the older woman's cheeks in her hands. "Of course, I will marry you," she beams before leaning in to meet Croix's lips with her own.

Croix deepens the kiss, her eyes fluttering closed in relief and bliss as she moves one hand through her beloved's blue hair, gently caressing the side of her neck. She melts hypnotized into the soft push of Ursula's lips. In their safe embrace, she thinks back over the years spent regretting never saying a word to the (at the time) redhead and at all the times she would have never imagined this very moment to be anything more than an unreal fantasy. Even still, as she sits kneeling between the girl of her dream's legs, kissing her in front of the very locker she had fallen in love with her at, she is having a hard time believing that her best friend so ardently accepting her proposal isn't just a dream.

In fact, it takes the sound of a body crashing through the locker room's wooden door and screaming apologies to pull Croix out of her questioning and find herself in the reality of her position.

'OHMYGODI'MSOSORRY!" Akko screams covering her eyes as she spins around to leave only managing to ram herself head first into the door as it bounces back from forcefully hitting the wall.

"AKKO!-" Ursula yells into Croix's face as she pushes her now-fiancé's face backwards and leaps up from the bench in panic. In her sudden movement a loud snap is heard throughout the room as her left leg slips from beneath her, throwing off her balance and causing her to fall backwards over the bench.

"CHARIOT!" Croix shouts as she leaps from her unbalanced kneeling position and grabs Ursula's arm before she can hit the ground.

"CROIX!" Ursula looks up at her with a worried look in her eyes as she shifts her eyes over to their student staring, mouth agape, between the two prosthetic limbs that had fallen strewn across the floor and at her red-faced coaches.

"Shit…" Croix whispers realizing her mistake as she looks back apologetically.

_Maybe she didn't hear it? A lot did just happen…_

Croix pulls Ursula safely onto the bench giving her arm a reassuring squeeze before bending over and picking up the blue-haired woman's glasses that had fallen off during the fall. With a slight fear in her eyes she subconsciously taps her pocket as she looks around for the engagement ring box. Relief washes over her before nerves take their place as she sees the glittering gemstones twinkling inside the box by Akko's feet.

Ursula sits in shock, looking towards her student adorning the most perplexed expression she had ever seen, inside or outside of class. The brunette looks over the fallen items on the floor, trying to make sense of the situation before looking up with an almost hurt look in her eyes. Ursula's heart goes from racing to stock still at the young girl's puzzled face slowly gaining realization.

"Wait..." Akko says as she rubs her forehead. Maybe the door had made her hear things that weren't really there and all this was some knockout induced dream, but a part of her begs her to ask. A light tinging bell goes off in her brain before cocking her head with a scrunched brow as she looks over to her flushed professors.

"Chariot?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay... so this one is a little shorter than the others but I really didn't want to jam the content of this one in with the next... so, the rest of the questions should be answered in the next chapter.
> 
> Also- I DID ADVERTISE THIS AS A CHAROIX PAIRING TOO RIGHT?


	21. All Caught Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After walking in on her coaches in a compromising position, much to her confusion, Akko gets answers to a question that had plagued her mind for years: "What happened to Chariot DuNord?"

 

The locker room is still, the only sound is that of the heartbeats pounding in each of its occupants' ears. Akko stands frozen, looking questionably at Professor Ursula…

...Chariot…?

...as she sits, clenching her trembling hands in her lap.

So much had just happened in such a small amount of time that Akko honestly wasn't 100% sure of what was going on. At this point, she doesn't even remember why she is here in the first place, all she knows is that Coach Croix just called Professor Ursula 'Chariot' and in the process of her mind catching up with what transpired in the last two minutes, she focused on questioning the relation. Her professor can't quite meet her eyes, but despite the averted gaze she can see embarrassment and guilt swimming in her irises.

The weight of worry pulls the young professor's face downward towards her lap as she lets out a feathered breath. Croix, unsure of how to help the situation, decides to take a seat next to the other woman grounding her with a gentle yet firm hand in the bend of her elbow. The younger coach relaxes slightly at the touch as she takes another breath and looks back up apologetically into her student's eyes.

"Yes…" She says softly, "I am… was...Chariot DuNord."

Akko's eyes widen at the admission. She knows she had asked but she didn't really think of what would happen once the question was answered.

"Y-you're Chariot…" she states disbelievingly.

From the bench, Urs- Chariot presses her lips together as she nods looking towards the floor of the locker room.

The wheels in Akko's head spin rapidly as she at last puzzles together the meaning of the words that had just left her mouth. She stares at her teacher as the light of realization shines in her eyes and a wild smile grows on her face.

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU WEREN'T DEAD OR RAISING ALPACAS!" Akko yells, unable to contain herself. She begins vibrating in place as her entire body wiggles in the excitement of meeting her childhood hero. "OH MY GOSH! YOU ARE SO AMAZING! OH! When you were still playing for the Bears, that one game against the Dragons! The one when you did the DuNord dive roll! I mean… that's what me and my dad always called it! It was so cool! And ever since I wanted to be as awesome as you! Oh! This is so crazy!"

"Akko, calm down." The lilac haired coach cuts her off, the vulnerable, pleading look in her eyes betraying the sternness of her voice. "Please…"

"Eh?" Akko pauses her excitement and at last takes notice of her idol looking to the ground somberly. "O-oh…" She quiets herself as a twinge of guilt settles in her stomach. "I-I'm sorry… I was just… I've always looked up to you… you know… I… oh god… I wrote that paper on you… in your class. AH! I'm sorry! If I knew I… I mean… you're still my biggest inspiration… but I wouldn't have… IS THAT WHY YOU GAVE ME YOUR NUMBER?! OH! OH MY GOD! I JUST REMEMBERED I SENT YOU FANMAIL! Oh this is so embarrassing!" She covers her bright red cheeks with her hands as she squirms— the only response her body deems appropriate for the amount of feelings she has coursing through her.

"Kagari…" Croix warns, this time with a humored expression as she notes the smallest of smiles softening Chariot's nerves.

"Ohp, sorry, sorry. I just… can't believe it. This entire time, you've been… my teacher… and my coach..." She says gesturing to the locker room. "It's kinda like a dream come true... but…" she pauses, looking up to her professor with a scrunched brow as a mixture of confusion and sadness washes over her, "...why don't you want anybody to know?"

The smile disappears from Chariot's face as she subconsciously tugs the fabric of her sweatpants in an attempt to cover her exposed thigh. After a short pause she says, unable to meet Akko's eyes, "I... felt it was the best course of action after the effects of my injury."

Her eyes widen with realization. "Your second major league game…"

"Yes…"

The brunette's eyes lock onto the mismatched set of limbs on the floor and then to her professor fixing the pant on her shortened left leg.

_Oh my god… But… so that's why she stopped playing… but...how?_

"What happened?"

The older woman hesitantly meets Akko's heartfelt eyes, searching for judgment but finding none.

"Alright, Miss Kagari," Croix reprimands, "That is a completely inappr-" she is stopped in the middle of her attempt of dismissing the conversation by the younger coach gently touching her arm. Worried teal eyes meet soft ruby as Chariot wordlessly tells her that it will be okay. Croix, reading the expression, concedes and allows the younger woman to take the reins of the coming conversation. Chariot smiles as she feels the other woman's arm hold firm against hers, before looking up to meet her student's anticipation laden eyes.

_At this point I suppose no more harm can be done…_

She brushes a strand of dyed blue hair behind her ear as she takes a timid breath. "Well..."

* * *

It was some freak accident. One moment, the roar of the crowd urged her onward into a risky slide beneath the jumping third baseman- the next, she heard a snap and felt an indescribable pain as everything faded to black.

She remembered awakening nauseous and alone in a bright white room to the stink of antiseptic and an awful throbbing in her left leg. She tried to lift herself out of bed (it had seemed like a good idea from the effect of the medication that continued its way through her IV), and was immediately stopped by a sobering dose of excruciating pain from her leg. She whimpered through grit teeth, and threw her head back onto the hospital bed trying desperately to stop the bile rising in her throat. Through clenched eyes she felt hot tears roll down the sides of her face as she bit her lip to keep from screaming. She silently cried from pain, from shock, from confusion, frustration, fear, and embarrassment all amplified by the medication irrationally swirling the unfamiliar room around. She was unsure of how long it had been for, but she knows she had only stopped once a nurse walked in alongside a light blonde-haired woman who introduced herself as her doctor.

Chariot had only been in the hospital for one day before the rumors began to reach her ears. Initially she was curious to hear what anyone would have to say about her— being so early in her career, it was unusual that something like this would call so much attention. But when she heard what was being said, her heart plummeted. She was completely unprepared to hear that the most popular rumor being spread was that traces of performance enhancement were found in her blood work and had backing from suspicion in her younger years.

What she hadn't realized was that the outstanding performances she pulled off in her college career had placed a spotlight on her. Due to her risky and grandiose plays, there had already been minor speculation by opposing colleges on whether or not she had been using steroids. While at the time, the rumors never made it to see the daylight, now, fueled by those opposing schools' slander and the new theory that drug usage contributed to her break, her integrity and ability were being questioned on a wide scale.

It was completely untrue, and the hospital contacted the media to see who their source had been in order to take appropriate action. Addendums correcting published articles had been released and public apologies were issued on television for the misinformation, however, the public had already taken to the defamatory claim like wildfire to kindling. The backlash of trying to clean Chariot DuNord's reputation only prompted the theory that she was being covered for, which in turn, put her current and past team's coaches in the line of fire.

And all she could do was sit helpless and broken in her hospital bed, beaten by guilt over things she'd been wrongly accused of.

She had tried to avoid listening to sports radio talk shows, but over the following days of her visiting teammates wishing her well, she had heard of the extent to how blown out of proportion the seemingly endless rumors had gotten.

As she sat dull-eyed looking up at the ceiling above her bed she came to the realization that her life would never be the same. As long as she was Chariot DuNord these accusations and the judgments associated with them would forever follow her. This thought pulsed in her mind, debating consequences and realistic outcomes over the next couple days as she remained bedridden amongst progressively less optimistic nursing staff.

After several x-rays, countless pain medications, and multiple barely touched meals, her decision to set aside her identity, dye her hair, and go by another name was solidified as her doctor sat opposite her vulnerable, hospital gown covered body, and told her that the damage in her leg was far worse than they had initially thought.

After stating that her leg was not showing any signs of improvement post her initial surgery, the doctor continued to say that it was highly unlikely that she would regain any function from the knee down.

Due to the major trauma of her tibia and the fragments from her shattered kneecap causing arterial and muscle damage, compromising the blood flow to her lower leg— not only would she be required to regularly take blood thinners in order to prevent her higher probability of getting major clots, but any recovery was highly improbable because of the necrotic tissue already developed in her lower leg.

The doctor continued to say that if she were to be optimistic, that if by some divine magic she did manage to regain some control back in her leg, she would suffer from harsh chronic nerve pain for the rest of her life along with a plethora of other side effects that would require a daily cocktail of medications.

After discussing what courses of action she had access to, the doctor apologized and left the room, giving the stunned girl some privacy to make a life changing decision. Chariot stared blankly at sheet covering her dying leg and mulled over her options between mourning the loss of all the things— softball, dancing, gymnastics, that she would likely never be able to make her leg do again.

A call to her parents and a couple of hours later, the redhead sat in her cot with eyes unable to shed another tear, shakily holding a pen tip to the signature line of a consent form accepting the risks that come with a transfemoral amputation.

To her, it was the best course of action. With the technological advancements of the age, prosthetic limbs were an option that could eventually help her regain some semblance of normalcy… or at least… allow her to build a less conspicuous normal for a new identity. From that day forward, she no longer accepted hospital visits by people other than her parents. They had known Chariot DuNord, and in order to leave that girl and everything associated with her behind she wanted as few people as possible to link her to who she would become.

The surgery was performed flawlessly. As red eyes groggily opened, fighting to break past the weakening hold of anesthesia, the weight of what had just happened registered slowly in her mind. She was hesitant to look directly at the flat blanket that had previously been crumpled beneath her leg, and so instead attempted to distract herself with a few breaths and a post-surgery box of juice offered by the nurse who had been checking her vitals and blood pressure.

The change in weight was strange and she did not like being confined to her bed and a wheelchair during her recovery, but by the time she was ready for discharge she had gotten slightly more used to her new reality.

She moved back into her childhood home at her family's insistence. Shortly after her arrival home, her final minutes as Chariot DuNord were spent dying her hair navy blue in her parent's kitchen sink— Ursula Callistis, which she adopted as her alias, was now in her place.

The rumors had slightly subsided due to time's passage, however, her name and coaches were still very heavily associated with steroid usage conspiracies among other things.

For a short time the transition was smooth. A few days after getting home, her mother handed her a pile of papers sent from the head coach of the Polaris Bears. As she flipped through the papers, she found that most were 'get well soon' cards from her younger ex-teammates and old fanmail the school had never delivered to her. A few brought a warmth to her chest and a smile to her face— one in particular where the fan wrote that she got grounded by her Dad after saying her first curse word because of her famed catch in the college game against the Dragons— made her giggle out loud. However, the feeling was short lived once she came across a more recently sent letter.

'Cheater', 'fraud', 'lowlife', 'disappointment', among an array of other insults struck into her heart as she couldn't help but fixate on the anonymous hate mail in front of her. Every word spat venom from a place of ignorant hatred, but the finality and conviction behind them began to make her believe that she had been guilty of the accusations.

It took a lot to remind herself that she was not at fault. Even so, she was hesitant to throw the letter into the trash because, from a dark place, she felt she deserved the burden of its words. Forcing herself, she clenched the paper and dropped it into the bin. However, before she could shut the lid, her eye caught sight of her old name scribbled in unfamiliar handwriting on a piece of paper in peeking out from beneath a coffee stained paper towel.

They had tried to hide it, but when asked, her parents reluctantly said they had been receiving cruel letters regarding her to their doorstep ever since the rumors had begun. This knowledge, coupled with looking online and learning that the lasting effect continued to tarnish the credibility of her blameless coaches and Alma Mater, Ursula fell into a guilt driven depression at the realization that she had more or less, abandoned the weight along with her old identity while everyone associated with her was still dealing with the consequences.

But it wasn't her fault...but it was…

It had taken her the result of 8 months of successful physical therapy to bring herself to move out of her parents' house and find an apartment that didn't remind her so much of the temptation to return to the identity of Chariot DuNord. She was afraid of what could happen if she did. She didn't want her family to be affected again, nor did she want to address anyone who would ask why she ran away. It was safer as Ursula Callistis, and after all this time, she's not even sure she could go back to the woman she used to be.

About a year or so after moving into her own apartment a moderate distance from her family, there was an accident. Her prosthetic had broken as she was stepping down a stairway in her complex. Despite a few bruises and an embarrassing landing, she was alright— the same could not have been said for the condition of the prosthetic.

She had made an appointment with a new local physical therapist in a practice known to have greater expertise in prosthesis, but the moment her nurse led her through the doors of the exam room she nearly fell off her crutches at the sight of her doctor.

She looked at lilac hair, much shorter than it had been 7 years ago and instantly her heart started pounding— from the excitement of seeing her old best friend, or from the fear of being found out— she was not sure.

Back in their younger years, Croix had been more or less known as a prodigy. She had been taking college credits since her sophomore year of high school and so it came as no surprise to see the woman in front of her to be a doctor at 25.

Despite Croix being a year older, she and her had gotten very close during school. This was something Chariot had been thankful for, and over the time that they had played on the Witches together she had secretly developed a crush on the older girl.

After Croix graduated from Luna Nova and moved away to university, the depth of how much Chariot missed her best friend really hit her. Her senior year had started off difficult, but she found that the harder she worked during her conditioning, the easier it became… and the better she got. She would have been lying if she said she didn't fantasize of Croix stopping by during one of their games to watch her. The teal eyed girl was difficult to impress during their time practicing together, but after not seeing her for a while and with all her hard work, she wished she could have shown the older girl how much she improved. Alas, she never did.

Eventually Croix fell from her thoughts, solidified in her memory as 'that too nerdy to be as cool as she is' girl she had missed the chance to have asked to senior prom. But now as she stood looking at the back of this woman she could only identify by the shade of her hair and the way she leaned against the exam table, all her dormant feelings for the woman returned tenfold as evident by the smile subconsciously pulling at her cheeks.

"Croix…?" she unthinkingly whispered, prompting the woman in slacks and a button down to turn towards her and look up from her clipboard.

"Good afternoon M…"

Teal eyes instantly widen in recognition of the woman in front of her. Despite the clearly different appearance, the ruby eyes she had burned into her memory belonged to none other than Chariot DuNord. Her heart danced in her chest before a flash of pain crossed her eyes. She quickly looked down at the paper in her hands, scanning her troubled eyes over the patient's name before looking up a moment later with a calm quirk of her brow.

"Excuse me...Ms. Callistis. It's nice to meet you." She said with a smile and a nod of her head.

Ursula's smile dropped, taken aback by her old friend's professionalism at the end of her whirlwind of expressions. She had practically felt her heart fall to the pit of her stomach at the formality of the other woman's voice. Could she not have remembered her? But for a moment it looked like she did… but she also looked upset... Could she hate her also?

"Alright, so you're here to get fit for a new prosthetic, correct?" She said with a touch of well masked surprise, seemingly just realizing that her client was missing a leg.

"Um… yes. Please."

"Alright. Well, since you are a new client here, before we get to the good stuff, I just want to go over some of your past medical histories." She said with a neutral smile and calculating eyes. "Thank you, Ramona, I will take it from here." She looked kindly at the nurse, dismissing her.

Ursula stood nervously as she watched the nurse exit the room, closing the door behind her leaving herself and Croix alone in the cool exam room. She was completely unsure of what was about to happen. Croix had been her friend a long time ago, but that was then… and before the accident.

As the door clicked shut the lilac haired woman took a moment of silence staring off to the side. After determining no one was close enough to the door to hear, she turned around to face the other woman with a genuine glowing smile and hopeful eyes. "Chariot? Is that really you?"

Ursula analyzed the other woman's expression, prepared to see it contort to disappointment, but after a moment of silence of it not coming, she allowed a nervous smile to take on her cheeks as she nods.

"Ahh I knew it! It would have been weird if I didn't!" The teal-eyed woman said with a laugh. "God, look at you...I wouldn't have pegged it, but you look good in blue."

Ursula, yet again, nearly fell from her crutches from how unexpectedly flustered the comment had made her. That hadn't seemed like something the Croix she knew in high school would say, but as evidenced by the way her heart was pounding, she found she really didn't mind. "I-I um thank you. You don't look so bad yourself." She said, focused on Croix's pushed back hairstyle and her perfectly fitted button up. "Erm-" she coughed, snapping herself out of her admiring gaze before gesturing towards the door, "Thank you… for using my new name."

"Oh...yeah, sure…" Croix's smile turned sad as she met Ursula's eyes. "I saw the name and at first thought maybe you'd gotten married...but I figured that wouldn't explain the first name changing. So I guessed that you're still trying to lay low after the whole… rumor thing. Am I right?"

Ursula nodded her head fondly at the older woman, "You've always been so smart." Red eyes looked to the floor as her smile tightened to a thin line. She was beyond happy to see Croix and while she didn't want to dampen the moment they seemed to be sharing, she needed to know for sure...

"Did...you believe the things they said? About the..." Ursula gestures to her leg.

"What?" Lilac eyebrows shot up as Croix, ever the goof, blew a raspberry. "Absolutely not! You and steroids? If they saw you in high school they'd know you worked your ass off. Besides, I know you'd never do something as stupid as that. I mean, if I remember right, you weren't the  _best_  student, but…"

She was interrupted as Ursula wrapped her right arm around her back and pressed her forehead into her shoulder.

"...I've missed you Croix..."

The lilac haired woman froze for a moment before returning the hug, encircling her arms around the younger woman's back helping to support her. "I've missed you too."

They stood like that for a short while, reveling in each other and making up for lost time before breaking apart, a light blush on each of the women's faces. With a huge weight off her chest, Ursula looked up to the teal eyed woman looking back at her. "Did you get taller? I don't remember being so short."

"Ah, no." The older woman stepped back with a slight pep of excitement before lifting her pant leg. "Heels. I think they make me look professional. What do you think?"

Ursula laughed at how proud the woman looked as she showed off her admittedly very good looking black heeled boot. "They look really nice, Croix. Much better than those sketchers you swore by in junior year."

"Still on about those sketchers, huh? They were comfortable! Man, seems like you haven't changed at all..." She said with a hand to her chest and a not at all subtle wink. "Though, it does look like you lost some weight..." Croix said with a twinkle in her eye, making obvious motions of looking down towards the other woman's missing leg.

Ursula deadpanned, clearly unimpressed. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?"

"Gee, I hope not."

By the end of the session, Ursula had learned that although she became a physical therapist, Croix really had an interest in designing and engineering prosthetics. She hadn't sold anything yet, nor were her designs ready for trial, but knowing that her old friend had such bold aspirations warmed Ursula's heart. She left with a new leg ordered, a few residual butterflies, and a cell phone number.

For the next couple months she returned to Croix's office for treatment on getting used to moving on the new leg. At first it had been attributed to transitioning between the difference of the new and old prosthetic, but then it slowly turned to just wanting an excuse to spend more time with one another.

Ursula had been the one to ask if Croix would come out to get lunch during her break, and Croix, beyond hopelessly enamored with the woman, practically cleared her schedule (unbeknownst to her date).

Over a short time they begun seeing each other more outside of the office and eventually Croix mustered up the courage and bought flowers for the former redhead.

They had begun dating while their sessions were still in effect, and by a strike of terrible luck, Croix's boss, the owner of the practice, saw the two women kissing at the end of an evening session. The owner had taken Croix aside and reamed her over moral codes and misconduct and at last threatened her licensure and a practice probation unless she ceased their relationship.

Much to Ursula's horror, Croix left the practice. She blamed herself fully and completely for putting Croix into the position and the fight that followed the conversation of the lilac-haired woman's resignation had Ursula shaking in sorrow on the floor.

Croix, on the other hand, was alright with the course of events. Yes, it was a really good job that she lost, and she genuinely liked it, but ultimately, she knew she wanted to focus more on innovative prosthesis, and while her experience was beneficial, she was not torn up about taking a new path with Ursula at her side.

As long as they dated, Croix insisted on using Chariot's name in private. She understood what the hiding woman was afraid of, although the rumors hadn't seen the daylight in years, a sighting of bright red hair after the absence could start a new flame— however, she knew, and made sure to remind her girlfriend that Chariot DuNord had done nothing wrong and should not be ashamed of what never happened. After trying to suppress her old self, it took time for Ursula to believe Croix's words. Eventually, after three years of the two going back to school to get additional degrees in technology (Croix) and English education (Ursula), as well as applying to jobs and getting hired to teach in their old school district, Ursula shed most of the shame associated with her unfortunate past.

There was still a fear that a reappearance could have consequences, so she intended to continue on as Ursula Callistis in public until she was ready to face the world.

It was on her very first day during her final class period when she saw a unique name on her roster which she immediately recognized as the girl who wrote to her all those years ago saying she cursed in front of her father over her catch. Evidenced by her very first assignment on 'Who is your biggest inspiration', it seemed Atsuko Kagari had not forgotten about her either.

After she heard about the open JV coach positions, Ursula may or may not have convinced Croix to join her in the position. On one hand, she was overly experienced for the position and was not against going back to some of her fondest memories of high school, but on the other, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious about her young fan's potential.

* * *

"You alright Akko?" Chariot asks worriedly as the brunette stands motionless absorbing what her idol had just told her.

Chariot had really only told the girl that after the accident, her leg was so damaged that the best choice was to remove it and that the rumors had gotten so bad and effected so many people that she figured the best way to stay out of the spotlight and to reduce the relevancy of the event was to disguise herself and go away— not the whole story... but enough to answer her question. Regardless, Akko just stared silently at the two women.

It took a long, awkward moment, but Akko's expression slowly changed to a furrowed brow as she opened her mouth. "So...you...didn't really do the stuff they were saying... Right?"

"No!" The English teacher panics, "Of course not...but…"

"You blame yourself for what happened anyway?"

"Not... anymore." Chariot says with a pause.

"Then what's stopping you?"

"What?"

"What's keeping you from letting yourself be Chariot?" Akko asks with genuine curiosity. "I mean, even though you're the same person, you shouldn't have to hide that part of you…"

"If I were around, other people might have to go through the questioning again…" Her eyes tiredly fall to her lap. "I know it's been a long time, but if people who believed the rumors see me now after disappearing for so long… I just...don't want people being brought back into it again."

Next to her, Croix watches her sadly. They have had this conversation countless times before, each time resulting in little progress. She had heard Chariot's reasonings time and time again, and at this point she has very little left to contribute to the debate.

"But if you let what those people said about you be the last word, nobody else would get the chance to see how amazing you are." Both women look up to the young girl now looking to the ground as she scuffs her shoe. "Ever since I was little, I've looked up to you. You inspired me... and while I don't think I was ever really that good at softball, thinking about what you could do made me want to get better so that one day I might be good enough to encourage other people to work hard and never give up on their dreams, just like you did for me."

With a small smile, Akko looks up from her feet and red eyes lock on red as Chariot continues to listen.

"I mean… it's really awesome that you're  _actually_ Chariot… It's actually really hard to believe that you had been here helping me this whole time…" She pauses, seemingly just acknowledging that reality before continuing with a growing smile. "But that's exactly it... even as my professor... as Coach Callistis, you never stopped pushing me forward towards my same dream!" She folds her hands in front of her as she lowers her voice "You're my favorite teacher, and a really great coach… and even after all the years you were gone, I never saw another softball player that was as great and inspiring as you. No matter who you are, you are still the same amazing person and you should be able to be whoever you want to be without being afraid of what dumb people might say."

A small humored breath leaves Chariot's lips as she notes the brunette's smile growing larger and larger.

"Think about the people who believe in you. They wouldn't want you to sacrifice who you used to be! They'd want you to be true to yourself and to see you come out on top of those lies. And while it could be scary, hearing people bring those stupid rumors up... I know you can make them see the truth."

The navy haired woman takes in a small shaking breath only to feel the light squeeze of Croix's hand still resting in the crook of her elbow. She turns and meets warm teal eyes which hold her own comfortingly as they swirl with affirmation, only backing up her student's claim.

"You can do anything! You deserve to be proud of yourself as Chariot, and I believe that if the world saw you again, you could help and inspire so many more people to keep doing their best!"

The two older women sit on the bench looking at the young girl. There is a genuine smile across Croix's face as she sees Chariot's eyes grow misty. With one final squeeze, Croix rises from the bench and gestures for Akko to take her place. As the brunette takes the seat, the blue haired woman turns to her with a smile. "Thank you, Akko."

Without warning (except to a knowing Croix, who saw it about to happen a mile away), Akko wraps her arms around her favorite teacher. After a moment, Ursula removes her glasses and returns the gesture, holding close the young girl who had never once stopped believing in her.

After a long silence, they separate from their embrace. Ursula takes a deep breath before looking back between her student and the love of her life picking up the prosthetics and ring box that had fallen in the commotion. "I suppose you two may be right."

Akko beams at her as Croix whips around in surprise, nearly dropping one of the legs.

"Back when it happened, I had been too shocked and preoccupied with treatment to do anything other than to hear how fast and far the rumors had gone. I had hoped that if I became irrelevant, it would all just fall away... I never actually defended myself, instead I ran away and felt the guilt of leaving the problem I should have addressed myself to my teammates and coaches." Chariot's face changes from sorrowful to determined. "I never faced the rumors myself, I realize it made me look guilty, but I was still unsure if it would come back and haunt everyone else just as it haunted me. Even if no one listens, I need to show that I tried to right it for everyone who had stood up for me and was affected by the backlash."

"And no matter what, you'll have us by your side!" Akko says with a smile, prompting her Professor to look at her in appreciation as Croix props the prosthetics against the bench.

"No matter what." Croix echoes their student with a smile before turning her face slightly more serious. "Side note...Did you ever find out exactly who started the rumor? Because if you're ready to address it, I have a few words I'd like to get across to them..."

"Croix, no." Ursula scolds light-heartedly, "It was all just a misunderstanding."

"What kind of idiot mistakes 'give her steroids for recovery' with 'found steroids in her bloodwork'? I know you said Doctor C got them fired, but still…"

Akko's jaw drops. "Wait, really? THAT'S how it started?"

Chariot sighs, returning her glasses to the bridge of her nose. "Yes, unfortunately. They had apologized after the fact, but at that point it was already spread on television."

"Yeah, well. You better hope I don't find out their name or else there'll be something else playing on the evening news…"

"Croix, I really hope you're joking."

Croix shrugs childishly.

"It'll be alright…" Chariot smiles at the older woman, red eyes overflowing with affection. "Every step of the way. Right?"

The lilac haired woman rolls her eyes stubbornly before breaking into a half smile, "Every step of the way..."

Akko watches as the two older women look sweetly into each other's eyes. Feeling that she might be imposing on a moment she looks away, eyes drawn to the ring in the box held in Croix's hand.

"Wait, is that a wedding ring!?" She shatters the moment. "Can I see? OH MY GOD DID I RUN IN ON YOU PROPOSING? OH MY GOD DID YOU SAY YES?! PSHH I MEAN YOU MUST'VE CAUSE YOU WERE KISSING, THAT WOULD BE WEIRD IF YOU SAID N-"

"Hey, hey, quiet it down will you?" The lilac-haired woman turns and tries to shush her. "You weren't supposed to see any of that-"

"I promise I won't say anything!" She interrupts before she gets hit with an epiphany and begins muttering under her breath, "Oh my god, I owe Amanda 30 bucks."

"What was that?" Croix leans in unsure if she heard the girl correctly. "Gah, nevermind, what made you come rushing in here so fast in the first place? Shouldn't you have been heading home?"

"Oh… um…" The brunette scratches her cheek as she tries to think back to the events leading to their current situation. "Why was I runni- OHMYGODIKISSEDDIANA!"

Both older women's eyebrows raise to their hairlines looking between each other and the young girl dissolving into a sweaty, hyperventilating mess in front of them.

"Well, this is not how I expected today to go…" Croix mumbles as Chariot sits awkwardly, unsure of how to console the brunette attempting to close herself inside her locker.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand that's the meat of Chariot's backstory. I really tried to channel Akko's speech to her in episode 24, though for the situation I didn't want it to sound too mature... (cause its Akko)
> 
> DON'T YOU WORRY! DIANA WILL BE BACK NEXT CHAPTER! As will some long awaited talks...
> 
> That poor girl needed a little break.


	22. (Not So) Out Of Left Field

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Out to the ballgame, out to the crowd. After the events following their game, Akko and Diana find themselves in some compromising positions putting them face to face with formally addressing their long-held feelings.

 

Time moves in slow motion as Diana watches her friends make their way towards her.

_They must have seen, oh god there's no way… I… how do I even… did... Wait did that really happen? No… yes… really. I can't believe…_

"Diana? Are you okay?" Barbara asks, reasonably concerned by the sight of the petrified blonde still frozen with her fingers to her lips.

_Perhaps they didn't see… it mustn't have been long… or had it been? Why did I not react? Why would she have done that? Why would she have done that?! Unless..._

"Diana…hey..." Hannah asks as she and Barbara close the distance on the blonde.

Diana jumps, startled at how close the two had suddenly gotten. "Oh girls!" She hurriedly drops her hand from her mouth as she desperately tries to collect herself. "I-I apologize, I must've been in... thought… Y-you finished changing quickly."

She isn't stupid and she knows her friends aren't either. She wanted to run, to take more time to sort her head out, and while she knows she had determined that she would open up to Hannah and Barbara, by no means did she think it would be so soon.

"Are you okay Diana?" Barbara asks worriedly.

_I can't lie to them… I don't… want to lie to them. I know they're supportive… but… no. I have to be ready…_

She bites her lip, still tingling from the pressure of Akko's only moments earlier. Sure she was afraid, but she would not regard her friends with so little respect as to blatantly lie to their faces.

_Bloody hell, this is definitely not what I had in mind for how this conversation would happen..._

Decision made, Diana takes a breath and straightens her back attempting to push away the jitters persistently harassing her fingers.

"Y-yes, I am alright." She says with a pause, "How... much of that did you see?"

Though she manages to ask the question calmly, her two best friends know that it is only because of her years of experience behind a mask. Her eyes and the red still bursting in her cheeks scream differently.

Hannah and Barbara hesitate, determining whether or not to answer honestly. Ultimately, Barbara speaks up once coming to the conclusion that Diana wouldn't have asked if she had been expecting a false answer.

"We...saw why Akko ran... if that's what you're asking…"

"A-ah. I see…"

The three girls stand in silence as Diana's mind races from the whiplash of foreign emotions. Her confidence shifts to embarrassment to panic as she tries to figure out how she wants to proceed forward.

_Come on. I knew the answer so why do I still dread this? They're my best friends. Just… how do I even start..._

"I think it's really nice…" Hannah says, suddenly pulling Diana out of her thoughts and breaking the heavy layer of silence. Soft hazel eyes look supportively into blue as Diana holds her breath. "You seem a lot happier when she's around, you know?"

Diana watches her friend, seeing the genuine kindness in her eyes. Despite their less than amicable relationship at the start, Hannah really had grown to change her thoughts of the brunette. She then looks towards Barbara matching her gaze with an agreeing nod and ever so slightly touching her fingers to Hannah's arm in support.

Her chest fills with a nervous fluttering as she takes a few moments to calm her mind to figure out how to formulate her next statement, but she finds even then that her decided words hesitate behind her lips.

_I suppose this is it…_

_It will be alright._

She takes a deep sigh, loosening the words stalling behind her lips. At last, she opens her mouth, relenting to the turn Fate had in store for her and allows her mask to fall.  _"_ W-"

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said anything…" Hannah cuts the blonde off with a slight panic in her voice. The auburn-haired girl averts her eyes to the ground as she comes to the realization that even though the previous events were out in the open, she hadn't considered that Diana might not be ready to accept them. She knows how it feels from her own experience, and with this realization she finds herself feeling guilty for putting pressure on the understandably frazzled girl. It may have been the normally calm and collected Diana Cavendish, but that doesn't make her friend any less human. "Here, we should probably go." She grabs Barbara's hand and begins to turn away. "Sor-"

"Hannah. Barbara." Diana says quickly stopping them mid-word in their tracks.

The two girls slowly look back to meet the blonde's eyes, noting the apprehensive resolve swimming in her irises.

"Would you mind if we discuss this somewhere a little more private?"

As Diana leads her uncharacteristically quiet friends down the hallway in search of an empty classroom, she takes the time to compose herself for the coming conversation.

_I am ready. I had made my decision to confide in them weeks ago...So why do I still feel unsure about admitting it out loud?_

Once they find an open classroom, Diana lingers by the door as she motions the other two girls to enter.

_Just be honest. This has been plaguing my mind for ages. They already know and I am tired of feeling this way..._

As she closes the door behind them, sparing one last look up and down the hallway to be sure no one was approaching, she feels her rapidly beating heart drum at every inch of her body.

_There's nothing to be afraid of. … I can do this. If I cannot tell my closest friends how do I expect to face Akko after today?_

Her face takes on a shade of pink and she recalls the very moment that led to this. By no means was she upset the kiss happened, maybe confused and a little disappointed that she only realized what was happening once it was over, but not upset.

_Regardless of whether or not Akko is interested in me, this is something I have to do for myself..._

Though, she can't say that the incessant thought that Akko likes her enough to kiss her was deterring her…

Shaking her thoughts from ruby red eyes and slightly chapped lips, Diana focuses on controlling her breathing. After taking a moment and determining that she will be able to say what she needs without wavering, she removes her hand from the cool doorknob serving as the only relief from her otherwise burning body and turns to face her two oldest friends. Looking between eager teal and hazel eyes, she takes a deep breath and straightens her back before pushing her words into the still air between them.

"I assume you've theorized my feelings for Akko for a while now, correct?"

The two girls, familiar with the blonde's tendency to project herself formally when nervous, look at her for a moment debating on whether being honest would be easier or harder for her. Coming to a wordless conclusion, they both sheepishly nod their heads yes.

"I figured as much." A barely noticeable smile nervously pulls at Diana's lips. "I appreciate you giving me the privacy to understand myself in my own time, but I suppose at this point there is little reason to continue to pretend that it's a secret from you."

Diana walks over to a nearby desk and leans against it, curling her shaking hands around its edge as she looks to the ground.

"If you recall, I never particularly cared for any of the boys we met growing up. It had never really bothered me until I had realized another girl was invoking the feelings I was told I should be experiencing from a boy."

She meets Hannah and Barbara's eyes as they look back at her with warm half smiles pushing at their cheeks.

"While I have known for some time that I had an interest in other girls, I was convinced that any feelings I may have wouldn't last and that some part of me would prevent me from getting too close to anyone. But these last months…once I met Akko..." A soft smile bravely makes its way across her lips as a gentle blush tints her cheeks and ears, "...I realize I have never felt so strongly for someone as I do for her."

The last few years of anxiety and denial that had amplified over the last few months lodge sideways into her throat. It was terrifying and not at all how she pictured her coming out to her friends would be, but it was done. Despite her body's response of suppressed shaking and a dryness to her tongue, at last, a wave of relief washes over her as the loss of pressure that had weighed down her heart and mind is replaced by her friends holding her tightly.

At the sight of their vulnerable friend and her heartfelt admission, Hannah and Barbara had broken through their composure and thrown their arms around the blonde in a fit of emotion. Diana has always been talented when it comes to hiding her feelings; presenting herself as the epitome of grace and politeness regardless of the figure or subject matter in front of her, but as Hannah and Barbara feel the blonde continue to shake through the embrace, be it from the adrenaline rushing through her or from the violent pace of her heart, they are reminded that although the walls she had built up after her mother's death had worked as an effective mask, her true feelings still ran rampant within its perimeter. And so, they continue their show of support until the blonde's trembling fades from her breath and she winds her arms loosely around their backs.

After what feels like ages, Diana releases a breath she was unaware had been trapped in her lungs, eliminating the last of the anxiety caught in her throat. With its mass no longer filling her, she allows herself to melt completely into her best friends. "Thank you, girls…"

The two smile into the blonde's shoulders, squeezing a little tighter into the embrace as to respond. After a moment longer, they break from their hug and stand to face each other, flushed and smiling as the weight upon them when they entered the room is nowhere to be felt.

Hannah clears her throat, her genuinely kind smile never faltering from her lips. "So typical of you to have a speech planned and everything."

"I assure you that I was completely unprepared for this." An embarrassed laugh leaves Diana's lips as she finds herself trying to get used to the new lightness of the gravity around her. "Though I will admit, while I was planning to tell you sooner opposed to later...I never imagined it would be under these circumstances..."

"That did kind of happen out of nowhere… Though, things don't typically go as expected with Akko around."

Diana blushes. "Yes. She surely has a way of keeping things interesting…"

"Hey," Hannah reaches out to grab Diana's hand in her own, "I know it's kinda obvious but it's still important to say… regardless of how big of a clutz Akko can be, just know no matter what we'll be here for you, okay?"

"Yup!" Barbara beams. "If she makes you happy, she's got the Parker-England seal of approval!"

"And if she ever hurts you…" Hannah's eyes turn deadly.

Diana can't help but genuinely laugh at the two girls slowly accustoming her to her new normal. "That won't be necessary… but I truly appreciate your support, girls. Thank you."

Despite being brought about in the most unorthodox of ways, Diana deems the sweet relief washing over her worth the horror. While she was aware she didn't have any reason to be afraid of her friend's judgement in the first place, she wasn't aware of how heavy her admission sat in her lungs before being breathed to life. Now, as she stands bare before her best friends, she can't help but humor the curiosity that had crossed her mind many times since her secret had gained relevance.

"If you don't mind my asking," Diana looks at them curiously, "when did you begin suspecting?"

Hannah and Barbara look at one another for a moment before Barbara turns to her sheepishly. "Uhhh...Well… Akko… was the night before the first game… but…"

"Honestly, it was back since travelling…" Hannah blurts before beginning to laugh, "it's funny, we weren't sure, but it started off as a thought that maybe you and Amanda had a thing- Hah!"

It takes every ounce of willpower in Diana's being to keep from bursting each and every blood vessel in her face. She immediately regrets asking her question.

"But oh my god, could you imagine!" Barbara screams before falling into a fit of giggles. "That would have been absolutely ridiculous! Hah!"

"Hah! Yes. Absolutely ridiculous. Hah." Diana manages with a stiff, doll like expression.

_Nooooope. Nope. Not going there. They will lose every ounce of respect for me if they find out. I need to tell Amanda that if she ever tells them I will do everything in my power to ensure she is forced to look over her shoulder for the rest of her life-_

"What do you think you're gonna do about Daryl?" Barbara asks as she comes down from her laughter, bringing Diana out of her torture filled imagination. For someone who was planning on going into the healthcare profession, she was a little disturbed at how easy it was to think of ways to make the redhead's life a living hell.

"Erm. Well…" Diana starts re-gathering her thoughts as she unclamps her jaw realizing that it had begun to cramp. "As for Daryl, I don't believe she will care too much…perhaps add it to the list of things she's thankful she's not my mother for…" Diana rolls her eyes, "but in all honesty, I have cared very little of her thoughts of me for a while now."

Hannah and Barbara nod their heads thoughtfully before Diana continues.

"My future, on the other hand, I've considered a little more thoroughly. I had been worried but I realized that if I am forced into the position of where I must make sacrifices, I'd rather disappoint the opinions of a few strangers than to live indebted to them." A small smile sits on her lips as she looks down at her folded hands, accepting the life of the decision she had mulled over weeks ago. "It has taken a while to convince myself, but I've come to the conclusion that anyone who could look past actions and morals and choose to value myself or others solely on orientation or status are not people I'd care to do prolonged business with and so, should not be people I seriously challenge my well-being with."

Hannah and Barbara look misty eyed between one another before looking up to meet a strong blue staring back without a shred of insecurity.

"While my mother had taken her work very seriously, she always stressed to me how important it is to find some happiness to help move forward. While I may not have experience when it comes to relationships nor do I know what to expect, Akko brings me a joy I haven't felt in a long time…" she smiles as she thinks back to Andrew's words from a few weeks ago, "she makes me want to be better… for myself… for her...and I am certain that will be worth the risks."

Hannah and Barbara lean against one another, battling to keep the moisture in their eyes from falling down their cheeks. They stand struck by their friend's words, unable to help but feel their resonance with their own experience.

"Geez, Diana…" Hannah starts with an ill-concealed sniffle. "You sure you didn't prepare a speech or something? I don't think people outed during their first kiss are supposed to be so good with their words…" she says wiping at her eye.

Suddenly, Barbara lets out a small gasp, the buildup of happy tears evaporating from her tear line immediately. "Wait! Hold on a sec. Did we just walk in on your first kiss?!"

At the revelation, Hannah's eyes widen and her smile falls and forms an 'o'. "Oh my god, WE DID, DIDN'T WE?"

Diana, too, seems to just arrive at the realization, completely losing the calm she had shown in her heart to heart just a few moments earlier. Instantly her eyebrows knit and her eyes stare on in horror as she remembers that while, yes, this was in fact her first kiss, and yes, it was with the girl she found she would very much like to kiss, it was ALSO so sudden that she didn't find the wherewithal to kiss back until long after it ended. She buries her face in her hands in embarrassment as her two friends grasp each other in joy, twittering and dancing around in celebration that they were present to witness their best friend's first kiss.

_I cannot believe… I didn't even realize… No wonder she ran away! I DIDN'T KISS HER BACK!_

"Oh god, I didn't kiss her back..." Diana muffles through her palms before abruptly lifting her reddened face from her hands with a dead blank stare. "I've ruined everything."

"Woah woah woah, wait a minute." Barbara manages through a laugh as she and Hannah each place a hand on the blonde.

_Wow. Didn't think she'd be the dramatic type…_  The auburn and raven-haired girls muse.

"I'm sure you didn't ruin anything." The teal eyed girl says with a humored smile trying to comfort her friend. "She probably only ran because she freaked herself out."

"You know Akko," Hannah waves her hand, "she jumps into everything before thinking… She probably just needs some time to sort her head out."

Diana's mind debates running out of the classroom and looking for the brunette— however, when her logical mind kicks back in and takes her friend's words into consideration, she accepts that maybe running after her and prompting this particular conversation so quickly could do more harm than good. She figures Akko may have a lot on her mind, and while she knows she will be thinking about how their next interaction will go over the duration of the weekend, she is sure the brunette will be attempting to prepare herself as well. Diana was many things, but a hypocrite is not one of them. Who is she to push the brunette if she isn't ready?

"I... suppose you may have a point…" She looks up at Hannah and Barbara, a crease of worry still in her brow.

"I'm sure she'll talk to you when she's ready." Barbara smiles as Hannah nudges her shoulder.

"Besides... um…" Hannah says as she and Barbara intertwine their fingers in a silent declaration, "there was something else we've kinda been waiting to talk to you about…"

Diana looks at them curiously before noticing their joined hands, immediately bringing a smile to her face.

_Oh!_

_Bloody hell, were they feeling this anticipation for me as well?_

A giddiness tickles at her chest as she sees her two friends face one another. Diana tames her smile as Hannah turns with a deep breath.

"Barbara…. and I…have been dating for the last two months."

Diana's smile breaks from its constraints and she is left beaming at the excitedly nervous couple in front of her. She watches as Barbara soothes a clearly exhilarated Hannah's hand, rubbing her thumb against slightly shaking knuckles.

"We were… a little afraid to tell you sooner…" Barbara picks up before her eyes go wide and her hands shoot up (still holding Hannah's) in defense. "NOT THAT WE THOUGHT YOU WOULD TREAT US DIFFERENTLY! We just… weren't sure where you were with yourself or if your Aunt would have a problem with you being around us…"

Diana's smile falters, not because she is offended, but because she understands the fear all too well. Her own experience is reflected in her two best friend's eyes as they look at her with a tinge of guilt. Diana's smile returns at full force, and this time she is the one to walk forward and wrap her arms around the two girls.

"First and foremost, congratulations." Diana says with a light squeeze, prompting the other two to return the embrace. "And please know you will never have to worry about Daryl. Even if she were to have an oppositional viewpoint, nothing she could say could convince me to abandon you. You two mean the world to me and I'm sorry if I've ever made you feel like any less."

Moisture welling up in their eyes again, Hannah and Barbara fall further into the snug embrace. "Thanks Diana."

"Of course. Just know I am so happy for you both." The blonde smiles as she places a hand on each of their heads holding them close. "Though, I do feel I should be honest with you as you were with me…"

Hannah and Barbara pull away from the hug and look on in confusion as the blonde smiles sheepishly.

"I have been aware of your relationship for some time... I figured there was a reason you didn't wish to disclose it with me formally so I tried not to put you on the spot."

"Wait! You knew?" Hannah exclaims, her eyebrows shooting to her hairline.

"Yes…my apologies."

"I told you she knew." Barbara says matter of factly.

"No you didn't!" Hannah turns to her girlfriend with reddened cheeks. "We were so careful though!"

"Not really…"

"What do you mean?"

As the two girls bicker Diana lifts her hand to mask a chuckle at the sight.

_They are the same as they've always been._ She smiles warmly. _I do wish one day I will get the chance to be so comfortably candid with Akko…_

_I hope she will be alright..._

* * *

_Ahh man… I really did it this time…_ Akko thinks to herself as she stands cramped, staring into the darkness of the inside of her locker.

In her panic of trying to lodge herself in her locker, Akko's shirt snagged on the latch of the door, pulling it closed with her inside. It was at that point when she tried to get out that she realized she had accidentally jammed the locker door and gotten stuck.

She pushed in panic from the inside of the small space as she listened to the grunting of her professors trying and failing to pull the dented metal door open from the other side. After all efforts went unacknowledged by the stubbornly sturdy door, Croix and Chariot told her to keep calm and that they would be back with help.

That was a few minutes ago…

Her panic has since subsided, leaving Akko in a limbo of exhaustion and acceptance as she waits to be released from her confines. She bows her head forward, blindly smacking her forehead into the side of the locker before leaving it to rest on the cool surface and reflect on all of what led to this point of her life.

Well…not all. Mostly just the blonde-haired girl kissing part.

_Geeeez…. what am I gonna do?_

_Diana probably hates me or is super confused and never wants to see me again._

_I can't really blame her! She said something nice to me and what do I do? I jump at her and kiss her._

_WHO DOES THAT?!_

She lets out a sigh that reverberates around the metal box. She'd try to cover her eyes with her hands, but as she stands in the narrow locker only wide enough to house a bat bag and backpack on a light day, her arms are more or less rendered immobile.

She bumps her head rhythmically against the metal as she waits.

_Maybe I should just stay in here… it's probably a lot less embarrassing... Oh! I can get Lotte to slip me food through the slats and I can just try to catch..._

_No… that's stupid. I'd probably die…_

_...But at least I got to kiss Diana before I did._

"Ahhh!" She yells with one final thud of her head against the locker.

_And I even messed that up!_

"Akko! Are you alright in there?!" Coach Chariot yells from the outside of the door as the sound of a small stampede rushes into the locker room.

"Yeah! I'm fine…" Akko muffles, "Pleeease get me out of hereee!"

"Okay, okay, just…" Chariot says something Akko couldn't quite make out to whoever was on the other side of the door.

"Huh?"

"Ready?"

Before she can answer, with a gentle click and a single fierce yank, Jasminka rips the door open as though it were a bag of potato chips. Akko topples out, pulled by the snag of her shirt, and lands in Sucy and Amanda's open arms before the three of them fall over the locker room bench.

"Guh...thank you!" Akko groans in relief as she tightly squeezes the two girls within her grasp.

"Geez, man. Easy on my ribs." Amanda gasps.

"You have... three seconds…to get off..." Sucy chokes out before Akko hurriedly releases her friends from her hold and jumps up against the line of lockers.

"S-sorry… heh heh…" Akko laughs nervously as she rubs the back of her head looking around at Lotte, Sucy, Amanda, Jasminka, Constanze, and her two coaches looking on in bemusement. "Heh… d-don't go in there… it's uh… I'm not sure what was so sticky… but…"

"Dude, what happened? How'd you get yourself locked inside your locker?" Amanda begins laughing as Constanze and Jasminka help her to her feet.

"Yeah, didn't you say you were supposed to be getting your grades with Diana?" Sucy eyes her as she dusts herself off.

"W-well yeah...about that…"

During her time for self-reflection inside the locker, Akko came to the conclusion that she would have to tell her friends about what happened. She figured since Lotte and Amanda already knew, telling the rest of her friends wouldn't be such a big deal. Besides, she would feel so guilty if she didn't tell them why she would be leaving to become a nomad, never to be seen again. And so, Akko accepts the timing and takes a deep breath.

"Well... we were talking and then we got to Finnelan before she could leave and then we got our grades and I did good but then Diana said something nice and…" she lowers her voice and looks down to her lap in shame, "then I kinda kissed her and ran away..."

The locker room falls into silence as the girls watch the brunette girl twiddling her thumbs anxiously.

It takes a moment for her friends to process and be sure that what they heard was in fact what was just said.

"YOU WHAT?!" Her teammates yell shattering the silence, (except for Constanze whose jaw drops as she slaps her hands to her head).

"I KNOW! IT WAS SO STUPID AND I DON'T KNOW WHY I DID IT, BUT I DID AND NOW I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!"

"Holy shit!" Amanda cackles holding her stomach. "What happened? Did blondie faint?! Where is she?"

"I don't know!" Akko whines in her panic. "She wasn't moving but I didn't really look back because I was running!"

"You probably killed her." Sucy giggles.

"Don't say that!" Akko cries flinging her hands to her face.

"Okay, okay, girls… let's… quiet down a little bit." Chariot attempts to calm the girls as she walks over to Akko (noticeably more comfortably doing so than she had been earlier in the day) and places a hand on the hyperventilating girl's shoulder. "Akko, I'm sure everything will be fine, okay? I'm sure Diana won't hate you, you just need to talk to her and clear up what happened."

"But what if she doesn't want to talk to me? I really messed up…"

"While… no… I would not recommend that you continue to kiss people out of the blue," Chariot smiles comfortingly, "Diana is a reasonable girl and you're her friend. I'm sure she will listen if you try to speak with her."

Chariot is far from ignorant of the blossoming relationship of the two girls, as is why she feels confident in giving her advice to her young fan. Over the last few months she had noticed the blonde's subtle glances towards the brunette— not too dissimilar from how she herself covertly watched a particular lilac-haired pitcher back in her youth— and she is positive that Akko's worry of being rejected by the girl is a non-issue, though that is not to say her fear is baseless. If she is anything like how she was at her age, which Chariot feels may be the case, she has no idea about the mutual feelings of the holder of her affection.

Akko sits still for a moment mulling over her teacher's words. "But what do I even say? I'll probably just make it worse..."

"You should be honest with her…" Lotte says as she sidles up at the locker beside her. "You never know what could happen, but I think lying to her would only make it more complicated."

"Yeah… it's not like you can change what happened." Sucy says taking a seat on the bench. "Diana's smart, I'm sure she already knows how you feel about her. You probably only surprised her."

"Psssh… wellNOWshemightknow..." Amanda mumbles under her breath drawing the curious attention of the rest of the girls. "Er. I mean...For real… you've got nothin' to worry about." Amanda quickly covers with a grin.

"Ahhhh!" Akko groans. "But what if I DO have to worry about it! What do I do then?"

"Alright kid, listen." Croix says walking up to her and stopping beside Chariot, discreetly brushing her arm against the other woman's. "You like her right?"

"Y-yes." She blushes.

"And you're afraid you'll lose her because of this."

She nods her head.

"So tell her that! Sure you may be young but If you really feel strongly about something… or someone… you should make sure you say what you mean."

Akko listens closely as the older woman places a hand on her shoulder.

"I know it feels like a big deal now, everything in high school does, but you have a long time to think back and regret not saying what you feel." She glances towards Chariot. "You never know if you'll get the chance once it's passed."

Akko looks down to her lap as she bites the inside of her cheek, silently thinking over the words of her friends and coaches. She knows what she has to do. She knows she has to talk to Diana, but how… and where? Should she do it now? After the weekend when it's maybe not so fresh? She knows she'll be dwelling on it for the duration of the weekend, and Diana… she just hopes that whatever time she needs to figure out what to say doesn't make the blonde hate her even more.

While normally she would be all up for doing what feels right, she has more or less put that option in the corner due to recent outcomes. She needs to think-

"That was pretty gay, Coach." Amanda says to Croix almost as though it were a complement, annihilating the tension and distracting Akko out of her thoughts.

Croix's mouth drops as Chariot's face begins to glow. "O'Neill-"

"Ey. It takes one to know one and I'm just calling how I see it."

Croix gapes at the redheaded girl, suddenly understanding how Finnelan's grey hairs have multiplied so quickly.

"Wait." Akko spins to face Amanda in complete surprise. "You're gay?"

Again, the locker room falls to silence with all eyes on the oblivious brunette. The only sound to be heard is that of Sucy slapping her forehead.

"Dude. Yeah. You thought I was STRAIGHT?"

"Well, yeah! Why wouldn't I?"

"Oh my god…" Amanda turns to Jasminka and Constanze with a worry in her eyes. "Guys… am I PASSING?"

The two shake their heads no and look at Akko judgmentally.

"Okay… this has gotten way off track." Coach Croix says cutting into the conversation with her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. "This is hardly the time or place for this discussion. You ladies should take that home with you. Kagari… are you going to be alright?"

Akko looks up at her, stunned at her new revelation. "Um… I think so…" she animatedly shakes her head to reset her thoughts. "I um...know I'm gonna have to talk to her… at some point… I just… want to make sure I say the right stuff. So... I'm going to think about it over the weekend. I don't think I can do it right now."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out…" Sucy says as she walks up bumping the brunette's shoulder.

"Besides, you have us if you need any help." Lotte smiles grabbing her arm on her other side.

A smile spreads across Akko's lips as her two friends squeeze her in a hug. "Thanks guys."

"Alright… good." Croix says with a tired smile.

"You girls get home safely, okay?" Chariot says folding her hands in front of her. "And Akko, try not to worry so much. Be true to yourself because I'm sure she already knows how wonderful you are. And know that no matter what, you have people on your side." She winks.

Akko beams at her idol with a determined pinch to her brow before nodding her head with an affirming hum.

"Good luck, kid." Croix says with a half-smile.

"Thank you, Coach, Professor." Akko smiles, looking once more at the two women. "I'll see you on Monday."

Flanked by Sucy and Lotte, Akko leads the girls out of the locker room door.

"Enjoy your weekend, girls!" Chariot calls after them as they filter out into the hallway.

As they turn the corner, Amanda blurts— "For real. You seriously couldn't tell?"

"How was I supposed to know?" Akko pouts defensively.

"Jesus Christ, your gaydar is awful. I put effort into  _this._ Shit… you two are perfect for each other..."

"What do you mean by that?!"

"Nothing. Nothing…"—

"Have a nice weekend!" Jasminka and Constanze, the last to leave the locker room call back and wave to the coaches in response before walking out to catch up with the rest of the group.

The two coaches wave in return as they listen to the sound of Amanda and Akko fade into the hallway. At last, the locker room quiets and Croix and Chariot stand alone in the middle of it.

After a moment, a loud sigh leaves the head coach's throat as she slumps herself onto the locker room bench. "This… was definitely not how I expected today to go…"

Chariot smiles and takes the seat beside the lilac-haired woman and scoots in close. "Since when do things go expectedly for either of us?" She says cupping one side of the woman's face and kissing her cheek.

Croix lets her head drop tiredly onto the younger woman's shoulder, wrapping one arm around her waist and fishing around in her pocket with her free hand. "So… does that mean you still say yes?"

Chariot laughs placing another kiss to the top of Croix's head. "Yes… though… I would like to wait to do anything until after I've addressed the rumor…"

The older woman looks up and raises her head with a smile.

"I want to be completely yours. And as long as I delay confronting this, there will be a part of me I can't give. If that's what you want."

"That sounds like a plan. I  _do_  like the sound of Meridies-DuNord better than Meridies-Callistis anyway." Croix purrs as she removes the ring from her pocket and holds it out for Chariot to inspect.

"Mmm…DuNord-Meridies." She hums offering her left hand coyly to the other woman. Croix smiles, pools of affection whirling in her eyes as she slips the golden band with seven glittering stones onto her fiancé's ring finger.

Chariot takes Croix's face in her hands and pulls her into her lips with no resistance. The lilac-haired woman, drowning in her kiss, responds by loosely draping her hands around the other woman's waist.

"Mmm…" Croix mumbles through the other woman's lips before breaking apart for air. As she dives back into her lover's breath, she seductively whispers, "Chariot DuRidies."

Chariot giggles into the kiss and bites her lip before matching the other woman's tone. "I'm pretty sure that's not how it works."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'm so proud of these girls. Technically 5 people came out of the closet (locker in Akko's case) this chapter.
> 
> WE'RE GETTING THERE GUYS!
> 
> Thank you again for sticking around so long! I hope getting to this point hasn't been too aggravating. HOPE YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER!
> 
> (p.s. I want to be Croix when I grow up)


	23. Pre-Game Jitters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the events of Friday afternoon, Akko and Diana prepare themselves for the next time they will come face to face with one another. Before getting the chance to see each other, their friends have a few words of advice to share with them as well.

 

 

' _Dear Diana.'_

_No._

' _heyyyyyyyyy?'_

_No._

' _SORRY NOT SORRY I KISSED YOUR FACE'_

_No no no!_

"Guhhh!" Akko groans, feverishly backspacing her recipient-less new text message before falling backwards onto her bed with a thud.

"Gnnnnnn! Why is this so haaard?!" She whines as she drops her phone on her forehead and stares despairingly at her ceiling.

It was Sunday night, and the weekend thus far has not yielded any insight on how to approach Diana after the events of Friday. As the time draws near, in her blinded desperation Akko had the thought that maybe a text message was perhaps the best way to break the ice. Hoping maybe, just maybe, that it would come more naturally to see it written out in front of her.

_Noooooooooo noooo this is a stupid idea!_

_What if she gets the text message and doesn't want to read it or answer it and then I don't know if she got it or not and then it would just get really awkward because if I ask her about it I'll know she read it and didn't want to talk to me and-_

"AGGHHHH _!"_

She screams as the light of the screen shines blindingly into her eyes, a notification glaringly popping up on her screen.

Once regaining her sight, she hesitantly looks at the phone only slightly wishing that maybe it would be Diana saving her from having to kick off the conversation, however, her spirit falls as the notification turns out only to be a software update.

Akko huffs before shoving her phone under her pillow and staring angrily at a maybe moving speck on her ceiling.

_No texting. I have to talk to her. Professor Chariot was right. She'll definitely give me a chance. We're friends. Right?_

_I mean… maybe?_

_But now...Do I just want to be friends? I mean, I thought I would be completely fine just being friends… but that was before…_

_No. I could definitely just be friends… even if it would be hard… and if she'd even let me._

Akko raises her arms with a stretch before bringing them down to rub the palms of her hands into her eye sockets. With a spirited grunt she jumps back up on the bed.

_Okay. Come on. Try to be positive. It could all totally go fine. Chariot believes in you._

_Which is weird isn't it? My idol is telling me to confess my feelings to the girl I like._

It had been a busy day and while she has been a little occupied with the pressing issue of what she should say to Diana, she has not forgotten the bombshell of her teacher being the ACTUAL Chariot DuNord as well as learning out the true reason why she had disappeared. While she was definitely shocked at the time, too much was going on to really process it, but now after she's had some time to digest the events and debate whether or not the whole of it was a dream, she's not sure whether or not English class the next day is going to leave her star struck.

_NO!_

_THAT'S A PROBLEM FOR TOMORROW AKKO, NOT FOR NOW AKKO!_

_But hey! My idol likes girls too! That's kinda cool!_

_Stop! Come on! I'm running out of time!_

Akko flops herself back down on the bed as she takes a deep breath and pinches her eyes shut in concentratio-

_THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!_

_How are people supposed to talk to people?!_

She harrumphs before unceremoniously rolling off her bed and beginning to pace a trail across her bedroom floor.

She had exhausted all of her options— she looked on the Internet, she watched the endings of some classic romance movies, she tried acting it out with herself in the mirror, and she had already tried talking to her friends earlier in the day, all of which had granted her minimal solace over her situation.

Lotte had helped the most, as was expected, however, Akko was hesitant to do as she recommended since the last time she took her advice (a variation of it, at least) she had gotten herself into this mess. Much to Akko's surprise, Sucy was far kinder than expected over their volley of texts. Though she definitely lightened Akko's stress through her typical Sucy-brand teasing, she didn't have any advice to offer other than 'don't start it with another kiss'. Amanda had actually contacted her out of nowhere via video chat while Constanze and Jasminka were over. It had initially started out as supportive thumbs ups and 'we believe in you' s from Constanze and Jasminka but quickly devolved to Akko trying to repress the urge to hang up on them prematurely due to the redhead taking her dilemma as an opportunity to see how hard she could make her blush.

_I just have to tell her the truth. That's what Lotte said. So what is the truth?_

_I'm sorry?_

_I mean I wanted to kiss her, but I didn't want it to happen like that..._

_I WISH I KNEW IF I EVEN HAD A CHANCE!_

_There's no way! How is everybody else so sure I can do this!?_

Akko stops her pacing and sits at the foot of her bed, propping up her chin in the palms of her hands. She blows at her bangs with a frustrated breath as she begins to notice the weight resting on her eyelids. She glances over to her phone as she pokes the screen summoning the time and date.

_12:36am._

_GNNNNN! When did it get so late?! I can't go to bed! I haven't figured anything out yet!_

She falls back on the bed and drops the phone on her face again, resulting in minimal rejuvenating effects. Blowing out a raspberry and grumbling in aggravation, she forces open her slowly shutting eyes and slaps at her cheeks. She may be tired, but she is Atsuko Kagari... and there is NO WAY she's succumbing to defeat.

_I just need to know how to start it… cause it could go okay if she'll let me talk to her, but if she doesn't... then what?_

An aggressive yawn bursts from her mouth causing her phone to slide off her cheeks.

_Okay. I can go to sleep once I figure out the FIRST thing I have to say. Okay? Okay._

' _Hey.'_

_No._

' _Can I talk to you alone?'_

_No._

' _Please don't hate me.'_

_No._

_..._

* * *

**-Monday at school-**

Diana had a busy weekend. Once determining her thoughts of how she wanted to handle the opinions of others, it appeared as though keeping her secret from Hannah and Barbara had been the last reinforcement keeping her from fully accepting that she  _wanted_  to come out. Once that weight was lifted off her chest, she found herself motivated to unveil this once hidden, forsaken part of her and so, decided it was time to share her secret with those closest to her.

Coming out to Adler and Anna had been simple. Much like Hannah and Barbara, they had shown mild signs indicating that they were aware of her secret. Adler seemed to know immediately that the 'sweet brunette girl' he had driven home from the party was the object of the young girl's affection, and while Anna had begun putting the pieces together that Diana held an interest in other girls far earlier in her childhood, her thoughts were only confirmed when the girl she had been watching over since birth was agonizing about whether or not to wear the sleeveless shirt to meet up with the other girl at the gym. Both were quick to give their support, albeit armed with a few critical questions about the girl that had caught their young lady's eye. Not in disapproval, but more-so out of whether or not Akko was well meaning.

Diana left out the detail about the surprise kiss, just because she felt that would be seen negatively.

Telling Daryl and her cousins, on the other hand, was far harder than expected. While she told herself the she didn't care much for her extended family's thoughts of her, she still found herself hesitant to make the announcement as they sat across from her at the dining room table after Sunday night supper. She was positive there would be minimal backlash, but even so, although they were not necessarily close, her aunt and cousins were the last ties she had to her mother's side of the family, and so the worry laid heavy.

Despite the words "I'm gay" coming out of her mouth just louder than a whisper, the apprehension she felt made it feel as though the statement echoed deafeningly around the room. As she looked on at her family with trembling hands and a weakening mask, Daryl and her cousins regarded the admission with minimal surprise. After Daryl questioned whether Diana was certain, prompting her niece to back her claim- with a disinterested sigh, Daryl dropped the topic with a like-energy: "Thank you for telling me"- as though it were something minute being added to a list of daily tasks that needed to be remembered. The underwhelming reaction, nonetheless, resulted in a wave of relief crashing over her as Diana retreated to her bedroom. What she didn't expect was to be surprised by Maril and Merrill knocking on her door to offer a few supporting words before parting for the evening.

She knows she said she didn't care what they thought, but she had to admit that even the slightest acceptance from her family fell warmly on her heart.

She had even decided to send Andrew a message, being grateful for what he said to her the day they met at the gym. His words had been an important part of getting her to where she was in her acceptance and based on them, she knew she could trust him with her admission. It took her some time to formulate what she wanted into words (it still felt awkward based on their relationship in the past), but she eventually decided on ' _I thought you should know I took your words to heart.'_ and ended it with,  _'I appreciate your kindness after all this time. Thank you.'_  To which he responded, ' _Best of luck'_ and made her blush with an added ' _now go get your girl.'_

Each instance, each time unboxing and presenting what she had tried to keep hidden for so long frightened her. Be it from the unexpectedness of the unknown or from inviting people in after barricading her walls after so much time, the anticipation leading up to the moment of truth each time made her question whether it was the right time. Each time being answered with a resounding 'yes.'

Though each time she prepared to come out planted a fear in her, none were as frightening as this very moment as she watches one of Akko's closest friends approach her from across their shared Advanced History classroom.

_Alright… I anticipated this. Akko told her friends just as I told mine...and it's only natural that they show concern for their friend. Don't panic, don't panic, I've done nothing wrong._

"Hey, Diana." Lotte greets as she stops before the blonde's desk.

"Hm? Hello, Lotte." Diana looks up (she hopes) nonchalantly from her notes that she had been using as a distraction from her mounting panic. She notices the redheaded girl having a slightly more troubled pinch to her brow than usual, piquing Diana's curiosity. "I-is there something the matter?"

"I was just wondering…" She scratches the back of her head, "You didn't talk to Akko over the weekend, did you?"

Diana notices the worried tone in the redhead's voice and her curiosity instantly turns to worry. "I'm sorry, I have not… Should I have been expecting to?"

"Oh, no… never mind then…" Lotte says with a nervous smile, "I just didn't see her in class this morning and she hasn't responded to any of my texts…and I was just curious if she maybe said anything to you..."

A heavy seed drops into the pit of Diana's stomach as her mind begins to race.

_Is she alright? Did something happen?_

_Is she skipping because of me? Does… she not want to see me? No, stop being so self-centered, I'm sure something just came up that demands her attention. Maybe I should try messaging her. But if she doesn't want to talk to me-_

"Hey," Lotte says with a smile pulling Diana temporarily from her concern. "Don't worry, okay? I'm sure she's alright. She was having a uh... rough weekend, so I was just curi-"

She is cut off as the bell rings signaling the start of the class and Professor Pisces making her way into the room motioning for her students to take their seats.

"Anyway… I should go…" Lotte says before stopping herself as she turns away from Diana's desk. "I'll let you know if I hear from her, okay?"

Diana nods her head and smiles despite the crease of worry still at her brow. "Thank you, Lotte. I'd appreciate that…"

She watches as the redhead walks away and takes her seat across the classroom, checking her phone once more before putting it away and pulling out her notebook.

_I hope this isn't my fault… I mean… should I have gone after her? Should I have tried to talk with her right after it happened? I know Hannah and Barbara said she may need some time, but I hope I didn't let something bad happen to her…_

Her worry persists through the rest of the morning until at last she is granted solace in her culinary class after questioning another one of the brunette's friends.

"Yeah, I saw her in the hallway last period...she probably just missed the bus or something…" Sucy drawls as she begins tying an apron around her waist. "That's not so unusual for her… Lotte probably just had a different idea of what was going on…"

"I see…" Diana says relieved.

_Thank goodness she's alright…_

"Unless something  _did happen_  over the weekend…" The pink haired girl glances pointedly at the blonde with her visible eye.

Noting the slight accusatory tone, Diana reminds herself that Sucy is aware of the events of Friday, and so is probably only trying to look out for her friend. She's pretty sure Hannah and Barbara would do the same for her.

"Lotte had asked the same earlier. I haven't spoken to Akko since Friday…"

Sucy hums, looking away from the blonde as she continues to prep her cooking station. "Akko told us what happened, I assume you had already figured that out though."

Slightly caught off guard by the bluntness of the pink haired girl's statement, Diana accidentally drops the wooden spoon in her hand. She feels a light blush rise on her cheeks before clearing her throat and meeting the other girl's eye. "I...yes. I had figured."

"In that case, let me just say something before Amanda comes in…" Sucy says before putting down the mixing bowl she was moving in her hands and turns to face the blonde. "Akko might be a big dummy sometimes, but she's a dummy who would do anything for someone she cares about. She doesn't always think things through, but everything that goes through that big head of hers means well." The pink-haired girl moves closer with narrowed eyes and lowers her voice. "It's obvious you care for her, you're really not subtle... but I don't know what's going on in your world, so just try not to hurt her if you're still trying to figure that out. She's not the brightest, but she is one of the most genuinely kind people I have ever met. Don't take advantage of that."

Diana stands still as Sucy steps away from her and resumes to arrange her cutlery. A slight fear runs down the blonde's spine as she watches the other girl begin to sharpen her set of knives.

_I...am unsure if there is a threat in there somewhere… Regardless, I... suppose Akko is fortunate to have such caring friends..._

After processing that Sucy had essentially called her obvious and debated whether or not there was a real threat, Diana takes a breath and clears her throat as she unveils the heart on her sleeve to the other girl. "Well, if you would allow me to ease your worry, I am more certain of myself now than I have ever been. I have no interest in challenging her kindness and I assure you, the last thing I want is to hurt her." There is a slight waver in her speech as she fights to keep from lowering her voice. She is proud of her proclamation and if she needs to prove a point to the friend of her heart's captor, then saying it out loud is least she can do. "I did not expect it early on, but I've grown to care very deeply for her."

Sucy eyes her for a moment before placing the knives down on the counter top and slightly raising her eyebrow. "Good. Don't start getting mushy though…" She turns away, allowing a moment for Diana to feel relaxation dawn on her shoulders, before suddenly turning back with a far more threatening look in her eye. "By the way, I will deny this conversation ever happened if you even think about telling her what I just said-"

"Hey you guys, what's happenin' here?" Amanda interrupts, sliding in between them and wrapping her arms around both of their shoulders. "So, Dee Dee, any objections if I'm your sous-chef today? I've got a few things I want to talk to you about and I doubt you'd want me to yell 'em across the room."

Sucy's threatening glare dissipates as she gives Diana a monotonous "good luck" before turning back to her cooking station leaving the two girls alone.

Diana locks blue eyes onto green and lets out a deep sigh before a small smile pulls at her lips.

Once the class begins and the sound of spoons clinking against bowls mix with students reading aloud recipe instructions, Amanda leans over to Diana and nudges her shoulder as she pours a cup of flour into their batter.

"So, how are ya feelin'?" The normally rambunctious girl asks with a kind curiosity.

"Honestly, it's still pretty surreal…" Diana says with a calm smile. "I keep forgetting that I don't have to worry about Daryl finding out anymore…"

"It's crazy right?" Amanda grins, "I'm glad she took it well, it sucks when they don't… but getting it off your chest makes a huge difference."

Friday night, only about an hour or so after getting back to her house, Diana received a surprising text message from Amanda simply asking, ' _you okay?'._ That conversation is where she found out that Akko had told her friends about their after school event. While their talk was not lacking in teasing and 'told ya so's, the two of them had remained in a steady chat throughout the weekend as Amanda kept true to her promise of 'having her back' while Diana came out to her family.

Amanda is a handful, a high-energy pain in the ass, and if she doesn't like you she could definitely be your worst enemy, but indisputably, Diana determined, she is a genuinely good friend. Sure, she lives on humor at anyone and everyone's expense, but where it counts the redhead has proven to be true to her word and caring despite her hard outer shell. Diana isn't sure exactly when it happened, but at some point over the last few weeks, her and Amanda's acquaintanceship and mutual respect in terms of softball prowess had turned into a friendship, and for that, Diana realizes she is thankful.

"It really does…" Diana responds to the girl holding up an egg getting ready to crack it on the side of their mixing bowl. "I am grateful for all of your help… Amanda. Since confronting me two years ago to now… I'm unsure if I would have accepted myself as I am if not for your involvement."

"Ew gross. Don't make me gag…" Amanda says with an over the top grimace before melting it into a joking smile. "But yeah, you'd probably be repressed and still thinking about me in a sports bra when you go to sleep at night."

"Oh yes, it truly has been difficult getting my imagination off of… what was it Hannah said back then?" Diana teasingly puts a finger to her chin. "Ironing board O'Neill?"

"Yo! That's cold, Cavendish…" Amanda's jaw drops, face donned with fake offense. "I can't say I recall you having the tits of a goddess either."

A light blush runs across Diana's cheeks as she holds back a snort. "True."

Amanda's face morphs into a smile, liking this new side of the blonde.

"If it is any consolation though, and no homo," Amanda says holding up her hands prompting Diana to look at her with expressive confusion, "ya' filled in... though I don't think Akko cares what size you are…"

"You keeping her in line, Cavendish?" Professor Lukic halts the conversation as she stops in front of their table to check on their progress. "What are you two chatting about?"

"Cup sizes." Amanda states.

"For sugar!" Diana inserts as her face takes on a scarlet hue. "1.5 cups so about 10 ounces… Pour that, please." She says aggressively shoving the measuring cup into a smug Amanda's hands.

"Hmm…" The old woman looks at the two girls skeptically. "Don't make a mess." She says looking pointedly at Amanda before turning away to check on how Sucy and Jasminka's recipe is coming along.

Diana watches her go, and once the cup of sugar is out of harms way, she elbows Amanda hard in the side. "Why would you say that!" She whispers, a pinch of humor behind her embarrassment.

Amanda rubs at her side and winks. "Ow. Geez… I'm pretty sure she's an ass girl." Which earns her another elbow to the side.

"Not...that- bloody Christ." Diana says throwing her hand up to her face to cover her blush and pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Hahaha! Hey, for real though." Amanda rubs her side as she tames her laugh, "If it wasn't obvious… which… if it's not- you two are COMPLETELY perfect for each other in your obliviousness, she's into you... so I don't think you have much to worry about." Her expression moves from humored to a kind seriousness. "Just… try to be patient with her… as I'm sure you know, unless...  _must I repeat myself_ … she can be a bit of a handful. I don't think you'd mean to, like I trust you… but-"

"-no one wants to see her get hurt." Diana says with a small smile, removing her hand from her forehead. "You are all such wonderful friends, but I will tell you the same as I told Sucy… I have no intention of abusing her kindness nor do I want to see her hurt. If she'll have me, I don't plan on taking the honor for granted."

Amanda smiles. "Glad to hear it. But, eughh, tone down the gay." Her smile turns teasing. "Seriously, do you wake up in the morning and say ' _I'm gonna sound like a 17th century lesbian today_ ' or is that just your default?"

Diana rolls her eyes holding back a smile at the redhead's accent impersonation before looking down at the recipe page.

"But dude, you got a talking to from Sucy already? I didn't think she'd say anything so quick." Amanda says quietly as she drapes herself over Diana's shoulders. "She's a hard-ass on Akko, but we all know she cares about her. I wouldn't take her threats too lightly though."

Diana's eyes open just a fraction wider as she looks at Amanda, still calm, yet DEFINITELY not joking.

"I will be sure to remember that."

"Anyway," Amanda lifts herself from Diana's shoulders and stretches, "Back to Kagari kiss and tell… If she's avoiding you, don't take it personally… I mean… do… cause it's because of you… but don't worry about it, you're fine."

Diana's eyebrows pinch together as she looks at Amanda with confusion. "Elaborate, please."

Not wanting to divulge too much of the brunette's struggle over the weekend, Amanda tries to remain as brief as possible. "She's just not sure what to say to you is all. Just give her some time and then ya'll can go back to sucking face."

Diana's hand promptly returns to the bridge of her nose as she tries to cover her reappearing blush. "Please… Amanda…"

"If she says anything to you during biology, just try to keep it PG at practice today."

"Amanda…"

* * *

"Where were you this morning?" Lotte asks like a worried parent as she sits across the lunch table from Akko, who at that moment, is stuffing her face violently with french fries.

"I only missed first… and second period…and breakfast." The brunette muffles through a hefty mouthful before forcing the slightly frostbitten, leftover starch down her throat. "I was up all night trying to figure out what to say to Diana but I guess at some point I just fell asleep without plugging my phone in… and then this morning I didn't wake up on time because my alarm didn't go off because my phone was dead."

A resounding 'ahh' of understanding comes from the table.

"Eh...that sounds like something that would happen to you…" Sucy says blankly.

"I know right?!"

"So did you figure out what you wanted to say to her?" Amanda says with a deceptively innocent tone. "I still think you should say that it's only fair that you get to go to first base since she already hit second..."

"No!" Akko slaps her hands to her reddened face.

"I'm sure it'll come to you…" Jasminka says as Constanze begins patting her back comfortingly to the sound of Amanda and Sucy's giggling.

"But the more I think about it the less I know how to make words make sense!"

"Well... stop thinking about it then…" Amanda offers.

Akko pinches her eyes shut as she continues to hold her head in her hands. "Well, when I stopped thinking I got myself into this mess! I'm gonna look so stupid."

"Well that's a given." Sucy drawls, causing Akko to let out an exasperated groan.

"She looked like she was worried about you this morning…" Lotte says as she watches Akko pause her despair and lift her head from her hands.

"Huh?"

"You weren't answering your phone so I was wondering if you talked to her last night and maybe something happened…" The redheaded girl says meeting her eyes. "When I told her you weren't in class this morning she looked upset."

"Yeah…she was asking about you in culinary too…" Sucy adds.

"Really?"

"Dude… listen... you have absolutely nothing to worry about…" Amanda says kicking her feet up comfortably on the table. "Just talk to her… and I'm sure you will be more than welcome in her batter's box…"

"Amanda stoooop!" Akko's face flares a deeper shade of red as she punches the redhead's shoulder. Suddenly her eyes go wide and her back goes rigid. "Oh no. Wait. I see her next period! Guys what am I gonna do!?"

"Just… relax… I'm sure the last place she wants to talk about what happened is in front of a classroom full of people. Just try to focus on class." Lotte says with a smile.

"Yeah, it would be really embarrassing if you got kicked off the team again so fast." Sucy says, her friend's common sense causing Akko to sigh in agreement.

"You're right… Besides, I guess the last thing I need is Finnelan calling me out and embarrassing me in front of everyone…right?"

"That's the spirit!" Amanda says clapping her on the shoulder before stealing a french fry from the brunette's plate. "Wow… these fries are terrible. Ehem. But for real, no worries Akko. Besides… if things weren't gonna be cool with you guys, I'm sure D-Cav's groupies would have had your head by now."

This causes Akko to gulp. She already had interactions with Hannah and Barbara this morning in a couple of her classes. For two she sees them separately, however the three of them share a health class together which is where the two girls, seemingly tired of their side-eyeing and and observational tactics, decided to confront her.

In actuality, it really wasn't that bad. They started off with "We know what you did on Friday" to which Akko considered flinging herself out the window after hearing, but was then stopped by Barbara saying "If Diana likes you, then we won't stop her" just to be followed by Hannah saying "But you don't want to know what we'll do if you hurt her" to which Akko nearly died of a heart attack from being completely caught off guard. By the time she mustered up the coherence to respond, they had already returned to their seats and the class had begun.

From this interaction she had learned that Diana had told them about what she did, that they were not opposed to Diana still wanting to hang out around her, and that Hannah could hit a level of scary that she had only before seen in Sucy. But still, what they said was not Diana's word. She could be upset, she might not be ready. Heck, Akko wasn't sure if  _she_  was ready, but she knew she had to confront this properly. She didn't want to put out the small flickering light of possibility now that she's aware of its presence.

"Ey, Akko. Where'd you go, girl?" Amanda says with a hint of worry as she waves her hand in front of the unresponsive brunette's eyes.

"Eh?!" Akko snaps out of her daydream that had gotten stuck on a distorted version of Hannah's threat on repeat. "Sorry. I'm good!"

"Aright…" Amanda says skeptically as the rest of the girls look at her with a mix of concern and amusement.

"It's all gonna be okay, Akko. Whatever happens, you'll still have us." Jasminka says with a smile as she pulls Amanda and Constanze, both emphatically nodding, into a hug.

"Yup!" Lotte smiles, "And I'm sure no matter what, you and Diana are still going to be friends."

"And if not, I can make a little something that'll make her fall asleep and question the last 24 hours." Sucy shrugs.

Akko's eyes linger on Sucy cautiously for just a moment before pulling all her friends into a big group hug. "Thank you guys. I'm just nervous… and I know whatever'll happen will happen, but… it's still scary."

"You seriously worry too much…" Lotte smiles.

"For real… pretend it's like batting ya know?" Amanda meets Akko's eyes. "You're focusing too much on not messing it up that you're forgetting how to swing. As long as you take it step by step and watch closely, I'm sure you'll hit it out of the park."

"Wow…clever analogy." Sucy rolls her eyes sarcastically.

"Oh hush! You know what I mean!"

"She's not wrong though." Lotte says softly.

"Really guys… thank you. You're the best." Akko tightens the hug on her friends as they hold the huddle for a while longer.

"Aright…" Amanda slaps her hands against whoever she is touching, at this point she wasn't sure. "This is great an' all. Friendship for the win. But can we stop the hugging… Constanze has been suffocating in my cleavage for a good 45 seconds."

The rest of lunch passes slowly, each second taunting her with a ' _tick'_  she couldn't actually hear. It may have been a blessing, being that it seemingly granted Akko more time to attempt to get herself together, but in reality it was just her brain going in overdrive focusing on anything and everything to distract her from what was steadily approaching. At last, the bell rings indicating the end of lunch and the beginning of Akko's trek to her biology class.

_I can do this. I. Can do this. I just have to sit in my seat. I don't have to say anything to her yet. Man… I really hope I don't mess this up. No. Stop thinking like that… just one step at a time. It's not a big deal._

It is then that she notices a strange feeling. With each step she takes she feels her heartbeat thunder tremendously in her ears. She freezes when a sudden blizzard chills her face and hands as she feels a storm churning the tides in her stomach.

_Wait._

_Oh no._

In an instant, Akko sprints down the hallway in search of a bathroom.

She skids to a stop as she reaches the restroom and throws herself through the door. Thankful the room is empty, she dives into a stall moments before the contents of her stomach resurface into the porcelain bowl in front of her.

_Oh god. Those fries WERE bad… they were really really really bad…_

Her stomach lurches again, her nerves and more undigested, old, frostbitten french fries make their way into the bowl.

_Ewwww…. GROOSSSSSSS! God, why am I like thiiiiiis?_

Kneeling on the floor in front of the toilet, Akko hears the bell signaling the start of class echo throughout the bathroom. She wasn't quite sure if she was finished, being that her stomach continued to protest against her, though at this point she was unsure if that was because of the food or anxiety. She didn't want to think about it, so she just sat there, staring into the toilet, hoping that somehow today could get better.

She hears the sound of the bathroom door opening followed by a set of slightly staggered footsteps.

_Oh, great..._

"O-oh! Akko?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys... we're winding down.
> 
> 4 Chapters to go!! Thank you guys for sticking around for so long, it really means a lot.
> 
> The next chapter took a hell of a long time, but I believe it will be worth it.
> 
> I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER!


	24. Getting Your Head In The Game / What Is Glove?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of a rough morning, Akko continues her streak of unfortunate happenstances well into the afternoon. Though, much to her relief, through the struggle she is at last hit by the words she had been searching for to say to Diana. As the pieces fall into place, Akko only hopes she doesn’t drop the ball.

 

The bell had rung about a minute ago and still Diana sits in her seat at the front of the room trying to keep herself from turning to look towards the empty desk in the back. She had been the first person in the room (which was not unusual for her) and is positive she would have seen Akko come in if she had, alas, on this day, she was robbed of the sight of a bobbing ponytail and shining red eyes. As Professor Finnelan completes the day's class attendance and begins her lecture Diana's heart sinks.

_I… suppose she's skipping biology today..._

_D-Don't take it personally… Amanda said I shouldn't worry. She'll talk to me when she's ready… she's just... not ready yet..._

_I mean, this is absolutely not the proper setting for such a conversation anyway…_

_It will be fine._

_I'm sure I will see her at practice… in the meantime, perhaps she will appreciate if I took a copy of notes for her…_

* * *

"Okay… do you think you're going to be okay making it to the nurses office?" Professor Chariot (still Ursula to the masses) asks as she helps Akko to her feet, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"I-I should be… it was just some bad lunch… I don't think there's anything left to come up…" The brunette manages a weak laugh.

The teacher smiles softly. "Here, come on." Chariot guides Akko out of the bathroom and down the hallway towards Woodward's office.

The walk was quiet and Akko realized, though, unsure whether or not the lingering nausea was affecting her reaction, that walking with her idol was exactly the same as walking with her teacher.

She had been a little worried that something might change between them with the knowledge of Professor Ursula's past of being Chariot. She was happy to find that, if anything, their talk had actually just opened the doors for her to feel more comfortable with her. In fact, the knowledge that she and Coach Croix had been a thing for so long kind of affected her vision of Chariot more than her actually being Chariot. Not negatively at all… it actually made her seem all the more human.

Akko glances at her professor's left hand and feels a smile take over her face as she sees the glittering band wrapped around her ring finger.

"Oh! I forgot to say congratulations to you and Coach Meridies! I'm... sorry for barging in and kinda ruining it..." The brunette's excitement falls to awkward embarrassment as she apologizes, remembering exactly how she became privy to that information.

Chariot looks over to her with a soft smile and cheery eyes. "Thank you, Akko. And please don't apologize. Though it...  _was_  unexpected, I would not say you ruined anything."

_In fact, I believe our talk made it all the more special._

"Well… still." Akko trails off and pauses as she nervously scratches the back of her head. "Um...could… I ask you a… kinda personal question? I-if you don't mind..."

"Well… I suppose that depends on how personal."

"Um...How... long did you and Coach Croix know you… you know... loved each other?"

A distant smile crosses Chariot's face as a wave of nostalgia washes over her. As she walks down the familiar hallway, she pictures Croix and herself doing the very same in their teenage years. She finds her imagination can't help but wonder what it would have been like if either of them had admitted their feelings to one another back then.

"Well, as it turns out, we had developed feelings for each other while we were in high school but never said anything until long after." The older woman begins to rub her thumb against the golden band on her finger— the new comfortable weight she was more than happy to hold. "As for love, I'm not sure... After the accident, when we reconnected, it felt like...picking up old pieces of a puzzle and remembering exactly where they go. I don't believe there was a singular defining moment, but I just knew that I was happy when I was with her, more than I was with anyone else."

"Hm." Akko hums, a thoughtful purse on her lips as she looks to the ground.

Chariot turns to look at the conflicted expression on the brunette's face. She has a hunch as to where the girl's mind may be as she watches her student further lose herself in thought. "Are you still having a difficult time trying to talk to Diana?"

The young girl's eyes shoot upwards. As the color returns to her face she stumbles on a response to her idol. "I-I...um… maybe… a little. I um… might just be a little nervous about it is all..."

"Well… it's definitely a scary thing to have to worry about…" Chariot says kindly as the two of them make a turn into the nurse's office. "But you never know, while you are being forced to address it, it could turn out better than expected. The people who believe in you want to see you come out on top of it, after all." The blue-haired woman smiles with a wink.

Akko returns her smile as her chest fills with a fluttering warmth— the reference of what she said to her idol in the locker room is not lost on her.

"Who's on top?" The green haired nurses voice precedes her as steps out from the back room. She narrows her eyes once she focuses them on her visitors. "Oh, Miss Kagari. What a surprise." The old woman says sarcastically. "How can I help you today?"

"Hello Nurse Woodward." Chariot smiles at the woman as she stands supportively beside her actively blushing student (Akko remembers pasta night...she remembers tops and bottoms). "Akko wasn't feeling well, so…" The blue-haired woman sticks her tongue out and pantomimes an arc from her mouth to the ground with her hand.

"Ah." Woodward's eyebrows raise before turning her attention to the young brunette. "Do you want to go home? If you're sick we don't really want you here."

"No, it's okay." Akko insists, quelling her blush as she pats her belly. "It was just an upset stomach. I had some weird fries-"

"Ah. Say no more." Any concern on the older woman's face vanishes in that moment. "I'm pretty sure some of those things have been in the freezers here since when I was a student. Come here. Have some water, some crackers, and brush your teeth. I have a few spare brushes under the sink in the back."

"Thank you." The brunette smiles softly before scurrying into the back room, fully aware of the location of the old nurse's snack stash.

Nurse Woodward's eyes follow Akko to the back of the office before re-focusing her attention on the young professor standing quietly in the doorway. The old nurse takes a seat in a waiting chair as she motions for Chariot to join her. The English teacher obliges and meet the other woman's friendly green eyes.

"I heard about you and Meridies…" The normally stern woman smiles kindly. "It's about damn time for you two. Congratulations."

Chariot blushes as she looks to the teal haired woman. "I really appreciate that. Thank you."

"I'm glad I got the chance to see you two get over your skirting around. It was almost painful watching you two being so oblivious around each other in your youth."

"Wait…" Chariot shakes her head trying to reprocess the nurse's words. "You... knew? Then?"

"Of course I did." The woman says incredulously. "When Meridies sprained her wrist you weren't exactly subtle. Same with her… bloody girl… she waited in the office like a lost puppy when you got sick in the back room." She lets out a laugh. "You have yet to realize, but it can get boring around here. Sometimes it's nice to see a school crush come full circle and get a happy ending."

Chariot pauses looking over the old woman as a hundred questions bounce on her tongue.

"That isn't by any chance a reason you contacted Croix about the job opening here, is it?"

"Well...It was not NOT a reason…"

* * *

After brushing her teeth and taking a few sips of water, which, thanks to the minty toothpaste were the most refreshing sips of water she's ever had on school grounds, Akko walks out of the back of the nurses office with a box of crackers feeling leagues better than she had walking in.

"Thank you Nurse W…" She gulps down a mouthful of food before pushing another biscuit into her mouth. "I think these crackers are getting a little stale, though…"

The green eyed woman looks up at her. "Well, then hurry and eat them before they get 'a lot' of stale." Prompting the brunette to shrug her shoulders and do just that.

Woodward rises from her seat and offers it to the young girl who gratefully plops down beside her professor. "Alright… so, I will write you up a nurse's pass if you want to rest here for the rest of the period just to be sure you're settled. In the meantime, please try not to get crumbs all over my floor."

"Yes ma'am." Akko salutes with a cracker, efficiently scattering crumbs on the seat beside her. "Heh, oops."

Woodward shakes her head with a sigh, although, the small smile on her lips betrays any actual agitation that may be in her expression. "She's all yours Professor… if you need some lunch you are welcome to some slightly stale crackers or anything else I keep back here. Just don't tell anyone."

"Thank you very much." The young professor says with a humored smile as she watches Akko try to pick up the crumbs that had dropped by mashing them with her thumb.

As the old woman turns and heads to the back, she takes a moment to look upward to the heavens (aka the ceiling) and say a little prayer to an old friend.

_Good Christ Beatrix. Your granddaughter's got some taste… good luck with that one..._

As Woodward disappears into the back room, Akko gives up in her futile attempt to clean the floor and instead offers Professor Chariot a cracker. The blue-haired woman smiles as she accepts one from the box and bites into a, sure enough, stale cracker.

"You don't have to stay with me you know. It's okay. I feel bad making you miss your lunch…"

"Oh, don't worry about that." Chariot says waving her hands as she swallows what was in her mouth. "There was actually something else I wanted to say to you regarding your situation."

Akko pauses as she is about to shove another cracker into her mouth and instead lowers it to her lap.

"I know it might not seem like it now, but eventually everything will be alright. You're young and you are allowed to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. I am sure Diana will forgive you for what happened so please try not to be so hard on yourself." Chariot says putting her hand on the top of her student's head. "Through experience, beating yourself up over something you cannot undo doesn't always prove to be helpful. Just try to be true to yourself. She's friends with you for you, after all."

A genuine smile softly takes over the brunette's face as she lightly nods her head at the older woman. "Thank you professor."

Akko decides to remain in the nurse's office for the rest of her biology period in order to avoid the wrath of Finnelan. Sure she had a pass, but by the time she felt better it would have been half way through the period and there was no way she was going to be able to pay attention anyway.

Chariot ended up grabbing her lunch and returning to Woodward's office to keep Akko company. While Akko felt bad that her professor was essentially babysitting her, the English teacher insisted that since Croix was in a meeting for the period she would have eaten alone otherwise. Once the bell rings signalling the end of the period, professor and student walk together to their final class of the day.

The English class goes by relatively quickly. While there is still a mounting anxiety leading up to when she will be face to face with Diana, her professor's encouraging words and almost fairy tale ending to her own love story has lifted Akko's spirits enough to ease her mind just a bit.

Aside from that, Professor 'Ursula' continued to call on her throughout the class period to answer questions. While she really didn't like being put on the spot, she realized her teacher's intent was to prevent her mind from wandering down another spiral. Despite not liking answering the questions, she rationalizes that at least if she has a good participation grade this class she can make up for skipping biology.

At the ring of the bell signaling the end of the period, Lotte, Sucy, and Amanda come up to her desk and eye her expectantly.

"How ya feeling, Romeo?" Amanda asks resting her elbow on the brunette's shoulder.

"Don't say thaaat." Akko buries her face in her hands. "I was starting to think that it'll all be okay, but now that you mention it… Sucy… did you make anything in chemistry that could instantly kill me?"

"Yes."

"Oh, Akko. Everything is going to be alright." Lotte says as she pats her friend's back.

"For real…" Amanda says leaning on her desk. "Cavendish ain't mad at you, you've got us behind you, and our Coaches ship you. You really don't have a lot to worry about."

The brunette sighs, "I'm just scared to hear what she's gonna say. I know she's probably already made up her mind, but I'm afraid to know for sure. I... don't want her to treat me differently…"

"Well, I'm pretty sure she's gonna treat you differently-" Amanda smirks before Lotte elbows her in the arm.

Lotte adjusts her glasses as she meets Akko's worried eyes. "Well, while I'm sure things aren't going to be the same, Diana isn't the type to judge you negatively for liking her."

"How do you know though?"

"Just trust us…" Amanda says with a slight tone of impatience as she rubs her arm, clearly tired from trying to talk her friend down from this obvious (to her and the rest of her friends) non-issue now that it's so close to concluding. "You've got nothing to worry about. Now come on, we're gonna be late to practice. Unless you're intentionally trying to miss your girl stripping down."

After grabbing her things and heading towards the locker room alongside her friends, Akko attempts to calm her nerves with several deep breaths and a repetition of the words  _'It's gonna be okay'_ in her head. It felt like it worked for a few seconds, but as they near the hallway leading to the locker room, her efforts are drowned out by the anxious drum of her heartbeat.

She hesitates as she approaches the locker room doors, accidentally making Constanze bump into her. With a quick apology and one final exhale, she steps through the threshold and enters the room filled with her changing teammates. Everything looked normal, just like any other day, but here it feels as though time moves in slow motion as her eyes fly up to meet Diana's which seemed to already be trained on her arrival.

A small smile crosses Diana's lips before she determines that she's held her gaze a little too long. With the realization that it may have gotten awkward, she hastily redirects her attention to completing the knot of her shoelace and praying that Hannah and Barbara, who had been changing beside her, can't hear her heart beating out of her chest.

Akko notes the blonde girl's sudden aversion, though in the seemingly slow motion of the moment, she did not miss the smile or the look of relief in her eyes— unless it's just her hopeful mind playing tricks on her.

_Well, okay. They were right… she doesn't look like she's mad... That's good._

_Just… go slow… I'm not saying anything in front of everybody._

Akko steps towards her locker, instantly calling back the memories of being intimately acquainted with it a few days ago. She opens it and sneakily looks to the side to see Diana digging through her bag. She also notices Hannah and Barbara quickly turning their attention away from her to a very interesting section of floor. Akko anxiously spins her own head around to stare into the opening of her locker.

_Oh man, they're totally watching me… but they're okay with it, but Hannah also said that… oh geez. I don't know anymore!_

Just then, along with the sound of rustling paper, she sees a few sheets of looseleaf being held out in her peripheral. She turns her full attention to their holder as she stands a couple feet away with the papers held loosely in her hand.

"Oh, h-hi D-Diana." Akko says suddenly tensing up.

Diana, completely aware of the deer in headlights look the brunette is displaying, tries to mask her nerves with a confident calmness as best as she can. "H-hello Akko. Um, I... noticed you were not in biology class today so I just wanted to give you a copy of the notes. You've been doing so well, and I didn't want you to fall behind…"

 _Because of me._ She left unsaid.

Akko looks at the blonde with a slightly pinched brow as she slowly feels the tension in her shoulders loosen.

_She took notes FOR ME? How is she-? Even after what I did? She's still-_

"Anyway, I had just wanted to give these to you while we had a moment." Diana says quickly placing the papers down on the bench as her blush begins to crack through her mask. "I will see you out there, I suppose."

The blonde turns on her heel and begins to make her way out of the locker room with Hannah and Barbara rushing to match her stride.

_Why did I just need to do that right now? She's not ready to talk to me yet. I have to give her the time she needs, it's not fair of me to rush her. Since when have I been so impatient!?_

"W-wait! Diana!" Akko cries out, turning a few heads from curious teammates around the room. The blonde halts in her step and turns to look at the brunette whose face has made a full transformation. "Thanks." She says with a beaming smile and a faint blush on her cheeks as she holds the papers tenderly in her hands.

_This is going to be okay._

Worried blue eyes soften as she allows her lips to quirk ever so slightly into a smile before continuing her way out of the locker room.

If she had been listening, Akko would have heard a mass sigh of frustration from her impatient teammates as they turn to go back to their changing. However, distracted, Akko continues to look towards the door Diana had just walked out of. A nervous yet hopeful warmth climbs up her chest while she subconsciously hugs the pristine loose leaf paper closer to her heart.

_She really doesn't hate me! She still wants to be friends! I think. Maybe? Wait._

She pulls the papers away from her chest and frantically flips through the pages skimming them for any secret messages amongst the beautifully handwritten notes.

_No. Nothing. Just biology stuff. But still! She wouldn't have done this if she didn't still kinda like me right?! Oh thank goodness._

The wave of relief washing over her leaves her deaf to Coach Nelson, Croix and Chariot as they exit the Coach's Office.

"Alright ladies, finish up your changing." Nelson calls out into the locker room. "We've only got a few games left this season but that does not mean we are done practicing. Our record so far is good, but let's aim to make it better, alright?"

She is met with a loud chorus of affirmation throughout the locker room.

"Good." The varsity coach claps, "Then let's get a move on!"

The locker room slowly empties as Akko rushes to throw her shirt over her head.

"How are you feeling? You look a little more like your old self." Lotte says with a smile, lagging behind with Sucy to wait for Akko to finish changing.

"Yeah, did Diana leave a love letter in those notes she gave you?" Sucy drawls eyeing the papers Akko laid atop her backpack.

"Noo!" Akko blushes as she squints her eyes at the pink-haired girl whose sharp teeth are spread into a teasing smile. "I'm just relieved she still wants to talk to me."

"What did we tell you?" Sucy says with a 'told ya so' tone.

"Well I don't know!" Akko throws her hands up. "I trust Lotte, but you and Amanda could have been setting me up!"

"Why would we ever do that?"

Akko shoots a judging glare towards the pink-haired girl.

Sucy holds her eyes with a blank stare before snorting and breaking into a humored smile. "I guess that's fair."

"Well, it's good to see you a little more optimistic." Lotte chimes as she folds Akko's fallen shirt and sets it on the bench.

"You almost ready to go Kagari?" Coach Croix asks as she and Chariot leave the coaches office and walk over to the brunette pulling a sock up her calf.

"Almost there. Sorry!" Akko apologizes as she grabs at her left cleat before attempting to put it on her right foot.

"Need a hand there, kid?" The head coach holds back a chuckle as the young girl realizes her mistake and switches her feet.

Chariot smiles softly before glancing towards her fiancé with a wink. "Sucy, Lotte. Would you mind giving me a hand getting the second pitching machine out of the back of the gear closet? I'm sure Nelson took the new one for Varsity today."

"Sure, Professor." Lotte smiles and Sucy shrugs as they follow the assistant coach out of the locker room, leaving Akko and Croix alone in front of the line of lockers.

As she watches the young girl knot her laces, the older woman takes a seat on the bench just as she had before the weekend began. She clears her throat and with a tender expression turns to face the brunette. "Might be a little weird of me to ask you about this, but how are you doing with your thing with Diana?"

Akko looks up to meet Croix's concern tinted eyes before a reassuring smile pulls at her cheeks. "Well, I haven't said anything yet… but I think it'll be fine."

"If you're sure…" Croix continues. "While I personally think working together is a good way to work through it, if you're not feeling comfortable, I can station you away from each other where it won't interfere with the practice."

Akko maintains her grateful smile as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thank you, Coach… I was really nervous earlier… but you don't have to do that. I actually think I'll be okay."

Croix smiles at the brunette before lightly patting her shoulder and pushing herself off the bench. "Atta girl. Try to remember what I said on Friday...if you really feel strongly, say what you mean." She looks towards the doorway of the locker room. "I was lucky to have been given a second chance with Chariot... it's not always the case. Regardless of whether she shares your feelings or not, the best relationship you can have with someone you care about is an honest one."

Akko nods thoughtfully as a light blush crawls across her cheeks.

"Aright," The lilac-haired coach stretches awkwardly as she looks over her student still double knotting her shoe lace. "That's enough of that. You done tying your shoes? Come on, let's go see if you can still hit like you did at Friday's game."

A determined smile plasters itself on the brunette's face as she jumps up and grabs her bat bag. "Yes Coach!"

* * *

Despite her newfound confidence in the idea of talking to Diana, Akko is still clueless as to what she wants to say to the girl. The general consensus is telling her to be honest, which makes perfect sense to her, however, at this point, ' _how honest'_  is the real question.

The question persists through stretches and running, making the half mile run feel as though it only passed by in moments. However, about fifteen minutes into practice with the answer continuing to elude her, as she and Sucy begin their warm up game of catch she grows progressively more frustrated with  _still_ being unable to decide on what to say.

_I think you're really nice._

_No. Stupid._

_Coach Chariot. No. Coach Ursula said that being in love is like… puzzle pieces…_

_No… er… that being in love is being happy with a person more than other people… and I'm happy around you?_

_No! Jeez. Why don't I just tell her I love her!? NO!_

"Hey, Akko…" Akko snaps out of her frustration to see Sucy staring at her blankly and pointing past her. "I hate to interrupt," she says not at all apologetically, "but you missed the ball…"

"Eh?" The brunette turns around and surely enough, sees the yellow ball in the grass about 15 feet behind her, completely unaware of how or when it soared past her. "Whoops. Sorry!" She apologizes as she scrambles to retrieve the ball. Once back in her hands, she cocks back her arm and throws the ball to Sucy in a well placed arc.

"Come on Akko… you have to focus. Don't let this mess you up today." The brunette mumbles to herself as she watches Sucy's return throw come towards her.

"AKKO! WATCH OUT!" She hears Avery scream.

The sudden alert re-tracks Akko's eyes onto the speeding ball heading towards her from the direction of a cringing Blair.

Without thinking, her body moves with a swift redirection of her glove to catch the off course ball in a stunning display of reaction time just a split second before it would have hit her.

The same can not be said for the ball Sucy had thrown... which, in the same moment as Blair's ball had slapped the leather of Akko's glove, crashes into and bounces off of Akko's forehead with a loud, solid  _THONK!_

Akko sees stars as she falls backwards into the grass amidst the sound of her teammates rushing over towards her. Diana, who had been nearby catching with Jasminka, was the first to reach her fallen teammate's side.

"Akko! Are you okay?!" Diana panics with a shake in her voice as she kneels beside the splayed girl.

After a moment and a few blinks of her eyes, a dopey smile crosses Akko's face. "I... caaaaught iiiiiit." She slurs as the softball lace shaped indent on her forehead begins to take on color.

"Yes, you did." The blonde humors her unsurely. "Can you sit up?"

Akko groans as Diana steadies her by the shoulder. Though she is far too young to be a doctor, Diana's lifelong dream is to follow in the doctoral footsteps of her mother, and so, as she sits before the brunette she's fallen for, she racks her brain for any helpful information she had learned in her books or heard on her visits to the hospital. "N-not too quickly. Take your time."

Once Akko pushes herself into a sitting position (with the help of a warm hand on her shoulder) she shakes her head, flinging away the dancing stars and softballs from her eyes and gaining clarity of the circle of her teammates standing around her.

"Ow. HI!" The brunette brings her hand to her forehead before being startled by how close the blonde is sitting next to her.

"Akko! Are you alright?" Lotte rushes into the circle alongside a genuinely worried looking Sucy.

"I'm so sorry, Akko!" Blair cries with her hands clutched close to her chest.

"Akko! How many fingers is Constanze holding up!?" Amanda worriedly yells as Constanze holds up four very concerned fingers.

"Everybody give her some room." Coach Croix commands the group of girls as she steps in. Chariot stands anxiously to the side with her phone out and ready to dial Woodward for instructions and a stretcher. "Someone grab an ice pa- okay, good."

In the rush of her teammates worried questions Akko hadn't realized that Diana had left her side until she was re-entering the circle with an ice pack.

With worry painted on her features, Diana kneels beside the brunette once again before gently brushing back the bangs hanging on her forehead and tenderly pressing the cool surface to the growing lump. Akko felt a shiver run through her, though she isn't sure that it's because of the ice.

"Kagari, focus for a second. Do you have a history of concussions?" Croix asks as she looks at the girl's eyes to check for dilation.

"Ah… n-no. I don't think so… I have a pretty hard head." She laughs nervously, shyly looking up into concerned blue eyes. "This isn't the first time and it probably won't be the last!"

After monitoring the girl's face a moment longer, Croix sits back with a sigh, determining that aside from the start of bruising on her forehead and the redness on her cheeks (which she could guess may have a different reason for being present), Akko wasn't showing any clear signs of having a concussion.

"Alright. While I completely believe you, I'm going to have you take it easy for a little bit, alright? Take a little time in the dugout... and if you feel ANYTHING weird, let us know IMMEDIATELY."

"Got it." The brunette says with a thumbs up, wincing from the cold press on her forehead. Akko looks back to the blonde caring for her, still holding her bangs back and pressing the ice pack to her forehead.

"Please try to be more careful…" the blonde girl says almost pleadingly as cerulean eyes look deep into red.

And in that moment, a sudden fire, unlike any Akko had felt before tears through her at the sight of the girl in front of her.

The butterflies she had grown used to whip into a chaotic frenzy for a moment before finding rhythm in the wild dance paced by her all encompassing heart beat. Looking into the blonde's worried eyes— worried for her, as well as feeling her fingers resting atop her head, replaying the feeling of them brushing carefully over her skin has her positive that despite the ice pack, her face was red hot. Through the conflicting temperatures warring on her body's surface, she feels a strange harmonious equilibrium resonating through each fiber of her being all because of the girl kneeling beside her.

There was so much she wanted to say. So many thoughts fought for placement on her tongue to be known first. Though her rational mind knows that now, as she sits on the ground surrounded by worried teammates, is not the right time to profess her feelings for her friend, the throbbing in her head pushes her common sense to and fro like the moon does the ocean's tide.

It had only been a second or two in real time, but with how fast the thoughts and feelings were clicking in Akko's mind, it feels as though she has always known what to say and had been waiting to reveal for centuries.

"Are you alright?" The slight relief that had once been present in Diana's eyes returns to worry. "Coach, her eyes are dilated."

Akko snaps out of her emotional intervention equivalent of a fever dream and comes back into the reality that is her sitting on the ground with a softball shaped lump on her noggin. "Y-yea, I'm totally fine. J-just um...taking a second." She says with a nervous smile before lifting her hand to her forehead and laying her fingers over Diana's on the ice pack. "Th-thanks Diana."

The blonde looks at her, concern still present in her expression as she searches the brunette's face for any anomalies, the only outstanding attribute being a flowing warmth in her eyes she could perhaps mistake for a daze. Despite a slight furrow to her brow, a smile pulls at her lips as she forces herself to remove her hands from Akko's head. She does so carefully, being sure to not disrupt the ice pack as she leaves it in the other girl's fingers. "You're welcome."

Akko can feel a new wave of affection for the blonde wash over her as she watches Diana hesitantly scoot away allowing her some room.

_Don't go…_

_If I asked her to stay, would she?_

_No stop, I can't ask her that! Geez...maybe that ball hit a little harder than I thought it did…_

"Okay Akko, are you alright to walk?" Coach Chariot asks as she offers a hand down to the sitting girl.

Pushing away the nagging feeling of wanting the blonde to brush back her hair again, Akko looks up to her professor with a strong smile and reaches for her hand. Despite the throbbing in her head, Akko actually feels pretty alright; by far, definitely not the worst she's felt all day. Professor Chariot and the toilet on the first floor saw her at her lowest- in comparison to that, she feels excellent.

Taking her coach's hand, Akko pops up to her feet a little too quickly for her coach's liking, but nonetheless remains standing.

She and Chariot make their way off the field to the sound of her teammates clapping for her recovery and Croix working to disperse the girls from their huddle to continue with practice.

After checking on the welt and adjusting the ice pack on her student's head, Chariot grabs a water bottle and tells the young girl to drink. As Akko takes a gulp of the just below room temperature water, from over the base of the bottle she can see her team moving into fielding formation, some occasionally glancing towards her. Despite the entire field in her view, she finds her eyes drawn almost magnetically towards the still worried brow of the blonde shortstop.

With her revelation still fresh in her head, Akko's heart blooms in her chest before taking a hefty swig and lowering the bottle to the bench. She meets Diana's eyes with a happiness contrasting the blonde's concern and with a big smile shoots the shortstop a reassuring wave. Despite the distance between the two, Akko can see the slight lift of the other girl's lips as the stiffness in her stance begins to melt away.

_I...I think everything is going to be okay._

After about fifteen minutes or so of holding the ice pack to her head and giving her mind the time to come down from its emotional whirlwind, Akko, tired of watching her teammates from the bench of the dugout feels she is well enough to continue on with her own practicing.

Although her forehead is still understandably tender, the swelling had been controlled by the ice pack. Despite the cold throbbing emanating from the area, she had felt no unusual side effects over the time she had been sitting with Chariot on the sidelines.

While her coach is hesitant on having her return to practice, Akko wins her over with an assurance of a cheery- "No way a little bump is gonna take me out!" coupled with a light knocking on a non bruised portion of her head.

The remainder of practice proves to be no different than most others, though, Akko is happy to find that her improvement in batting does not seem to be a one time occurrence. The few clean hits making their way into the outfield tell her that she is finally getting the hang of whatever it was that had been tripping her up at the beginning of the season, and so is successful in boosting her spirits on top of her newfound confidence.

Aside from the mishap at the beginning of the practice, Akko finishes the final drill and zips her glove back inside her bat bag with the feeling that, improvement wise, it had been her best practice yet.

After checking in on the brunette and being reassured that the young girl was not experiencing anything abnormal, Coach Croix gives her post-practice motivational speech, ends it with a cheer and tells everyone to pack up and head inside towards the locker room.

"Dude, I'm glad you're okay, but I still can't believe you got nailed in the face." Amanda says with a humored laugh.

"I know!" Akko moans, gently poking at her bruise to determine the size of the (slightly larger than an egg) lump on her head. "And I even caught the other ball!"

"Sorry about that." Sucy apologizes with a slightly uncharacteristic genuineness.

"No! Don't be sorry! It's not your fault! I should have probably just ducked or moved out of the way or something." She says attempting to wave away any of Sucy's guilt. "I'm just happy it wasn't one of your big throws."

"Eh. Still." Sucy shrugs.

"After all, I  _was_  out for a couple of weeks. I guess I was kinda overdue for a bruise or two." She says with a small sense of pride. Though, she will admit she is a  _little_  thankful that her bangs cover most of her bump and bruise.

"That still looked pretty bad though." Lotte says as she tries to get a look at the brunette's forehead.

"Yeah, sounded bad too… we could hear that ball hitting your skull from across the field." Amanda chimes in beside Constanze and Jasminka. "Though...everything looked like it was gonna be juuuust fine when _Doctor Cavendish_ stepped in." The pitcher says slyly before being bumped in the shoulder by Jasminka.

Akko blushes as her eyes subconsciously scan through her group of teammates for the blonde in question. It barely takes a moment for her eyes to land on the girl walking between a chatting Hannah and Barbara.

Ever since their moment with the ice pack, Akko noted the blonde's eyes drifting her way more than usual. Regardless of whether it was because she wanted to monitor her 'patient' or any different reason, the attention left her heated at the collar.

"Did you figure out when you wanted to talk to her?" Lotte asks.

Akko abruptly returns her attention to her friends before looking downwards unsurely and picking at the dirt under her nails. "Well...I… want to do it before we leave school today… I mean… not with everybody right here…but while I have what I want her to know fresh in my head."

"Yo! Do you need us to set something up for ya?" Amanda rubs her hands together with a mischievous look in her eyes. "Conzey made a pencil sharpener that triples as a fog machine and water pistol that could totally be used for a distract and extract."

Constanze nods her head excitedly as she pulls said funky little contraption out her her bag and holds it up to the confused yet intrigued brunette.

"Uh-um… I was... actually just thinking of going up and asking her if I could talk to her…"

"Booooor-iiiing," Amanda fake yawns as Constanze disappointedly puts her invention away, "but I guess that's a little more up blondie's alley."

"I don't know…I think Akko could still make it interesting…" Sucy teasingly pokes Akko's shoulder. "She's totally capable of tripping and going face first into Diana's crotch."

It takes Akko a moment, but the second she understands the implication a bright blush takes over her face as the memories of that  _very_  awkward (yet enlightening) bus ride flood back to her. "YOU REMEMBER THAT!?"

"Pssh, yeah I remember it." Sucy snickers, covering her mouth.

"It was a total accident! The bus moved!" Akko screams defensively waving her hands towards the rest of her friends looking at her with questioning brows.

"Yeah. It does that." The pink-haired girl replies.

By the time they near the school, Akko had decided that the best time to try to get Diana alone to talk would probably be while everybody else was busy changing in the locker room. That way, they would be less likely to be walked-in on during their conversation, not that she thinks her friends or coaches would intentionally interrupt...

If everything went according to plan, the conversation would not last very long. She just wanted to say her thing,  _hopefully_  hear Diana tell her that it was okay and to let her down easy-  _or maybe just tell her it wasn't the worst kiss she's had in her life-_ and then be able to go home and eat a pint of ice cream guilt-free. She deserves it... and Woodward's stale crackers did only enough to tide her over until about 10 minutes ago.

She watches as the doors to the school get closer and closer until finally she decides she has gotten close enough.

"Alright… I'm gonna do it…" She stops walking and attempts to put on a confident facade. "Oh man, please promise me that if I die you won't tell anybody how I died at the funeral."

"Depending on how it happens, no promises." Sucy reassures.

Akko groans before Lotte wraps her in a quick hug, giving her shoulders a supportive squeeze. "Good luck, Akko." The redhead steps back with shining eyes. "Don't worry, it'll all be okay."

"Yeah, you'll be fine." Sucy adds with a smile before heading off with Lotte towards the door.

"Hey." Akko turns back towards Amanda who flashes a proud smile and lifts her fist. "You've got this."

She looks up to Amanda, Constanze and Jasminka, the former two fixing her with affirming nods and supportive grins. With a nervous smile, Akko bumps Amanda's fist with her own and wiggles her fingers during the takeaway. With a wink and a quick thumbs up, the two-toned redhead turns away alongside Jasminka and Constanze and walk off together.

Alone, she watches her friends and teammates filter into the school building leaving only her, Diana's group, Avery and Mary still outside. Noticing that Diana, Hannah, and Barbara were quickly approaching the door, Akko takes a deep breath determining that her moment has come and speedily races them to the door.

_Okay. You can do this. Just say what you need her to hear…_

"H-hey, D-Diana." Akko breathily calls out as she jogs up to them. She curses her stutter as she watches the three girls stop walking and turn to face her. She gives an awkward wave to Hannah and Barbara before forcing herself to make eye contact with the blonde. "U-um… can I t-talk to you for a second? If um… you're not in a rush or anything?"

The blonde pauses as a sudden flush appears on her cheeks. "Oh… o-of course, Akko." She turns to look at Hannah and Barbara, who look back at their best friend with encouraging quirks of their brows. Hazel and teal eyes meet blue with a silent show of support wishing Diana good luck before turning away and sparing a quick glance towards the brunette.

"See you inside, Diana!" Barbara waves. While she looks calm on the outside, (much like Hannah who is intentionally directing her face away from the two girls due to a very telling grin) her heart bounces in a jumble of excitement for her friend.

 _Wow. That wasn't so bad… I guess some things really have changed..._ Akko thinks as she watches the two girls head towards the school.

At the beginning of the year she would not have been surprised to hear Hannah and Barbara ask if she had gotten brain damage from being hit if she were to come up and talk to them, but now, seeing them look over their shoulders at her with more curiosity than malice feels almost surreal. Almost as surreal as becoming friends with and falling for the all around amazing girl whose shoe she stepped on during the first day of tryouts.

Noticing that the rest of the team had made their way inside, she turns her attention from the retreating girls and finally musters the courage to face Diana.

And just like that, as her eyes meet blue, the confidence built up over the last hour vanishes.

The actuality of what is about to happen hits her foundation and causes her resolve to tremble. Her heart pounds in her chest anxiously now that the moment she has dreaded and fantasized presents itself to her.

It was time, they were alone. It was just her and the girl she has fallen despairingly hard for.

_It's going to be okay. She's my friend… and I'm her friend. She deserves an explanation…_

"Akko." Diana says shyly as she folds her hands in front of her. "I'm pretty sure I have an idea of what this is pertaining to, and I jus-"

"No, wait!" The brunette panics, interrupting her. "S-sorry. Um… W-would you mind if I go first? I just...um...I've been…um..."

_Oh god! Why am I getting so nervous all over again!? I knew what I was going to say, but everything just disappeared! Okay. okay. Okay, just… try to remember c'mon c'mo-_

Akko's mind instantly halts as she feels a warm palm rest on her shoulder. She looks up towards calming blue eyes and sees a kind smile take to Diana's face.

"It's okay. I'm listening." Diana says softly before removing her hand from the shorter girl's shoulder and refolding it in front of her, patiently awaiting her words.

_Alright. Relax...She's my friend. And even if she doesn't like me like me, she still likes me enough to hear me out… and give me notes...and hold an ice pack to my head..._

…

…

_I really am lucky..._

_But dammit, none of this would have happened if she wasn't such a nice rival!_

Finally calm enough to gather her thoughts, Akko meets warm blue eyes and takes a deep, sure, breath.

_Okay… just say it._

"I-I'm sorry about what happened on Friday…It really wasn't okay of me to do but after those things you said...I kinda just did it without thinking and I'm really, really sorry."

Diana heart squeezes at the sight of the genuine sorrow and guilt swirling around in the shorter girl's irises as she stands meekly before her.

_Please don't feel that way… You don't need my forgiveness for that, Akko._

Before Diana can say anything, Akko averts her eyes, clearing her throat to push away the shakiness starting in her voice. "A-and I know I really messed up… so I can understand if you don't want to be my friend anymore."

A frown crosses Diana's face as she watches the brunette anxiously scratch at her arm.

"I mean...I really hope it doesn't come to that…but I get it if you don't want to be around me now that...you know…" Akko looks up reconnecting with the blonde's eyes and pauses seemingly weighing her next words.

"I really like you Diana. Like,  _really_  really like you. I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but I knew ever since we met, any time you laughed or smiled at me," she lifts her hand over her pounding chest, "my heart got all crazy…and it was super confusing because...heck, I didn't even know that I could even  _like_  girls, but then  _there you were_ and…I just know that when I'm with you it's like...nothing I've ever felt about anybody before. It's… nice."

A blush suddenly comes over Akko's face before she begins to rub the back of her head in a panic. "A-anyway… I'm sorry. You didn't need to hear that...I don't even know if you like girls, or me… like that... I just…thought you should know I...y'know… but obviously you do...I kissed you… duh...sorry. Ohhh!"

Akko lets out a frustrated groan at herself as she closes her eyes and halts her rambling.

_Come on me! Don't fall apart now!_

"You're just...such an amazing and nice person… and so...if you decide you still want to, you know, be just friends… I can do that…" Akko says with a soft smile. "I just feel so lucky that somehow we did in the first place and I don't want to lose... you... I'd rather push away my feelings and still be your friend than lose you because I lov-"

Akko's eyes go wide at the realization of what was leaving her mouth.

_Did I just say that? No. Noo! I can't just tell her I love her! Ah! Ah! FIX THIS FIX THIS!_

"I-I mean… n-not that it's...I don't even know if it's  _love_  love you know? Like, that feels like it's just too big of a word, like… LOVE. But I mean… I guess I don't know what else to call it… I just... No, wait...I…"

Akko growls.

_Oh god no, stop stop stop! Where am I going with this?!_

"Ahhh!I don't even know what I'm trying to say… ahh! I mean… Do you know what I mean? I just…"

Akko stops mid sentence as a warm hand touches her cheek. She raises her eyes to look into the sparkling blue sea of Diana's irises and is instantly rendered dumbstruck by the sheer intensity looking back at her. With a lopsided smile, the blonde softly brushes her thumb over the brunette's cheek before taking a shaking breath of her own.

"I believe I do."

And with that, Diana gently closes the distance between her and the girl she had been longing to hold. She tilts her head, brushing her nose against the brunette's before pressing her lips against the girl who had stolen her heart and the other half of her first kiss.

It takes Akko a moment to realize that the sudden rush of heat to her cheeks and the slight numbness to her legs is due to the feeling of the blonde's lips brushing against her own. The sudden electricity running through her causes her eyes to involuntarily flutter shut— for a moment she fears it's in an attempt to blind her from a false reality she had only just imagined, but with the assurance of the warm hand resting upon her cheek and the scent of lavender taking over her senses, Akko sends her doubts to the wind as she leans forward to meet Diana's kiss.

The blonde smiles into the tender push of Akko's lips as she lifts her free hand to brush a piece of hair behind the brunette's ear. She wants to pull her closer, to run her fingers through silky brown locks and rest at the nape of her neck, but the fast vanishing reminder of them still being at school manages to make one last stand and convince her to instead run her fingers down her hair and gently hold the other girl's shoulder.

It it soft, yet overwhelming; quick, yet long enough to admit and convey the feelings that had built up over the last few months. It's simultaneously the most exhilarating magic and the sweetest lullaby, perfectly fitting the pieces of their unique puzzles together to make something beautiful and new.

Akko only realizes that her arms had made their way up to hold Diana's back once she has to stop for air.

She pulls back, opening her eyes to the breathtaking sight of Diana smiling back at her.

_Wow._

Flush-faced and lightly panting, the two girls stand in each other's arms savoring the heat of adoration radiating between them.

With her hand still cupping the brunette's face, Diana traces a gentle circle on Akko's cheek. "I'm fairly certain I am the lucky one, Akko."

A teary smile spreads across Akko's face before she pulls the blonde into a hug, resting her head in the crook of her neck. Diana delicately wraps her arms around the other girl's shoulders, holding her tightly just as she had fantasized doing countless times before. She lowers her chin into rich brown hair, filling her senses with the citrus scented shampoo she had learned to fondly associate with ruby red eyes.

_You are the most beautiful person I have ever met, Atsuko. Inside and out._

Diana chastely presses her lips to the side of Akko's head before closing her eyes and resting her cheek against the brunette. Relief and joy wash over them like spring rain as they stand embraced in one another's arms, unsure of whose racing heartbeat belongs to who.

* * *

MEANWHILE

* * *

"Aright… hand it over." Amanda says through a chorus of hushed 'awww's as she stands at the door of the hallway surrounded by the rest of her teammates.

"No fair… we all said it was gonna happen." Sarah pouts as she hands Amanda four wrinkled dollar bills.

"Yeah, but did you say that Cavendish would be the one to pull some romantic movie crap? I don't think so." The redhead grins as she continues to hold out her hands to collect her bet money.

After holding each other close in excitement and swooning with happiness over Diana and Akko  _finally_  and sweetly putting an end to their skirting around, Hannah and Barbara recall a concern they had let bypass several weeks ago at their after fundraiser trip to the cafe. Their suspicions had never left them, and so now, the couple stands crossing their arms and looking judgmentally at Amanda making a profit.

They had not partaken in the bet because they didn't feel it was proper to gamble on such a big moment for their best friend (had Hannah participated, she would have been right beside Amanda collecting money), though, they were curious as to how the redhead had so accurately judged their friend.

"Y'know. It just doesn't make sense..." Barbara squints her eyes at Amanda.

"How could you have just  _guessed_  that Diana would do that?" Hannah sneers. "I mean, we all saw that she had a thing for her, but what made you so sure she wouldn't just keep hiding it."

"Yeah, she literally  _just_  told us… so how-"

"Never you mind my two favorite gal pals." Amanda grins as the two's accusatory glares turn to irritation. "I have my ways…"

_Though… I think I'd pay good money to see their faces if they knew just how long I've known Cavvy's secret..._

"Hey, what's going on over here?" Amanda's attention is drawn away as she notices Avery and Mary swapping money amongst themselves.

"Oh… we made a little side bet." Mary says with a slight frown, three dollars poorer.

"Oh yeah?" Amanda eyes them curiously.

"Yeah," Avery smiles pocketing her winnings. "We bet that Akko would get a girlfriend before you could."

Amanda's soul escapes through her mouth as her jaw hits the floor.

From the door, Lotte and Sucy watch the two girls pull away from their embrace and look at each other as though the world around them were merely the canvas for the other to be painted upon.

"Ah… I guess this means we're gonna hear a lot more 'Diana this' and 'Diana that' during lunch now…" Sucy says dully.

Lotte lets out a small giggle before looking up at the pink-haired girl with a shrug. "You're probably right, but…" a soft smile sits comfortably on her lips as she looks back out towards the blonde and brunette being bathed in the afternoon sun. "I'm happy for them."

A sigh escapes Sucy's throat before a soft half smile pulls at her cheek. "Yeah… me too."

"Hey. What's going on here?" Croix asks as she and Chariot walk out of the locker room towards the group of girls. The team whips their heads around, guilt evidenced on most of their faces.

While the two older women can guess what (or who) their team is looking at, they wait until they get a quick look out of the door at the young brunette cautiously taking the blushing blonde's hands in her own before masking smiles and scolding everyone intruding on the special moment.

"What's the matter with you girls? Give them some privacy will ya'?" Croix says shooing them away from the door. "Come on… go. Locker room. NOW, O'Neill."

Doing so slightly kinder than her fiancé, Chariot ushers the remaining girls away from the door. Though, before she turns to follow her team to the locker room, she takes one last look at the two girls sharing soft words and adoring looks in the setting sun.

Her heart warms at the sight of the normally tense blonde melting as she giggles almost whimsically at the blushing girl held close by swaying interlocked fingers.

After seeing the progress of both girls since their start— their shyness and trepidation turning to acceptance and resolve— Chariot can't help but wonder if Woodward had felt the same anticipation of seeing them overcome their insecurities when she had watched her and Croix.

With a proud smile and a silent hope of happiness at the start of their new world with one another, she turns away from the two girls in love and leaves them lost for the other to guide.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHHHH! FINALLY! It only took like... 130k words... BUT BABES WE'RE HERE!
> 
> We are on the very last leg of this story. I have three more chapters planned, so I really hope ya'll hang around until the end!
> 
> As always, thank you guys for sticking around for so long and I really hope that this was worth the wait! I hope you liked this chapter and I hope you like what's coming up next!
> 
> (Also, NEW LONGEST CHAPTER!)


	25. Game Changer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short time after confessions and realizations, the season winds down and the girls prepare themselves for their final game. Due to unforeseen events, with both disappointment and surprise it seems as though their final game together will not go as planned.

 

**-Friday Afternoon, Two Weeks Later-**

"Let's go Akko! Just cause she's your girlfriend doesn't mean you have to let her win!" Amanda screams over the rest of the team cheering as the brunette and her blonde opponent weave around cones during their final practice relay race.

"I'm...not...letting…her...GAHHH!" Akko yells, tripping over her foot mid-run and falling to the ground knocking over the nearest cones.

Just before reaching the end of her line, Diana stops at the sound of the other girl hitting the ground followed by the rest of the team providing a lively chorus of 'ooh's and 'ow's. Looking back, she sees the brunette holding up a thumb in the air indicating she is okay. Relieved that maybe the only thing damaged had been Akko's pride, Diana leisurely jogs her way over to her competitor.

Akko looks up from the ground- now with a slight Akko-shaped imprint, and spits the mouthful of field that had made its way on her tongue back to where it belongs.

"Are you alright?" Diana asks lowering herself to the other girl and offering her hand. Crimson eyes meet cerulean and a humored smile comes over the blonde's face as the brunette grins with a nod, displaying a tuft of grass in between her teeth. "What am I going to do with you?" The blonde light heartedly shakes her head as Akko giggles, taking her hand before being pulled up off the ground.

Back on her feet, Akko dusts the dirt from her knees and spits out the remaining dirt and turf still in her mouth before turning to face the blonde with a clean smile and a blush.

"You okay, Kagari?" Croix calls out from the finish line.

With a lowered voice Akko leans just a little closer to the blonde with a sly look in her eye. "My mouth hurts a little... think you can kiss it better?"

With a smile and a roll of her eyes, Diana bumps Akko's shoulder and turns to their coach. "She's fine, Coach!" Once returning her attention to the brunette, she matches the other girl's lower tone and winks. "After practice."

Their leg of the race compromised, Diana and Akko step off to the side for the rest to commence. At Croix's call, Barbara and Lotte break into a run down the next set of obstacles.

"You know… you don't have to take 'leaving your mark on the field' so literally." Sucy giggles as Akko and Diana make their way over towards the rest of their teammates finished with their run.

"Ha ha. Very funny." The brunette grumbles as Diana pats her shoulder trying to brush off the last of the dirt. "It's been a while since the last time I fell."

"Well," Diana hums with an apologetic pinch of her eyebrows. "Not counting when you got hit in the head two weeks ago...or Monday when you tripped over Mary's leg… or two days ago when-"

"Alright, alright." Akko pouts as Sucy cackles. With narrowed eyes she looks towards her traitorous girlfriend caringly cleaning the dirt from her cheek. "Well... nobody can say Atsuko Kagari didn't put her blood, sweat, and tears into practicing!"

'I suppose. Though, I wouldn't be opposed to a little less blood…" The blonde says tucking a piece of hair behind the brunette's ear, at last satisfied with her attempt at tidying the other girl's ragged, post-fall appearance.

"Yeah...too much of that and you have a bio-hazard." Sucy adds.

"Graceful as always, Akko." Hannah jokes as she walks up to the three girls at the sideline. "It's a wonder there's any field left to get stuck on your pants."

"Yeah, yeah, well." Akko dismissively waves her hand at the new addition to their group. "Just you wait until next year! We'll see who's making fun of who."

"Yeah, I'm sure." The auburn-haired girl snorts. "Anyway, Diana, are you and Babe Ruth over here still up for our double date on Sunday?"

Akko's eyes sparkle as any teasing aggression abandons her. "Heck yes we are!"

"I've made sure my day is clear." Diana smiles.

"Great!" Hannah grins before quickly turning her head to check behind her for her girlfriend. "Just don't tell Barbara the name of the restaurant. She's been dying to go because it's named after the author of her Nightfall books and I'm trying to surprise her, so shh." She looks pointedly at Akko, fully aware of who the loose-lipped weak-link is.

Akko's bright eyes narrow as her jaw drops. "I won't ruin it! I don't even know how to pronounce the name! La Cre- La Cream? La Cr-"

"HEY BARBARA!" Hannah and Diana loudly greet the approaching girl, muting the brunette with a warning look as she slams her hands to her mouth.

"H-hi guys..." Barbara hesitates at the odd welcome before she and Lotte step into the group. Once she sidles up beside Hannah, linking their arms as though it were second nature, her eyes drift over to the brunette and a teasing smile pulls at her lips. "Graceful as always, Akko."

"Hey!" Akko's hands fly from her mouth as she yells, feeling the whiplash of deja vu.

The two girls giggle simultaneously as Akko glares at them grumpily. Her frustration melts away at the feeling of Diana's fingers intertwining with her own and at the soft smile directed at her as she meets the blonde's gaze. Scooting just a little closer, she squeezes the blonde's hand.

The group falls into conversation between cheers for the last of their teammates competing in the final relay. Since it is the very last day of practice of the season, Coach Croix and Ursula had replaced the typical practice session for a sort of fun competition. There were timed races, a throwing competition (Sucy, unsurprisingly, coming out as victor), distance sliding, an impromptu juggling competition (Coach Ursula surprising everyone), and several agility exercises. But now as the day comes to a close, disguised as dried sweat, a joyful yet melancholic feeling sits heavy as the girls make their way across the field towards the locker room.

"I'm just saying… we can practically see the 'not safe for work' every time you look at each other." The group of friends wait for a reaction as they shift their eyes from Amanda holding up 'air quotes' to the couple in question.

"Amandaaaaaa!" Akko groans as a violent blush overcomes Diana's face.

"Ahaaaa!" The redhead points wide-eyed at the two girls walking hand in hand. "You're not denying it!"

"We are absolutely denying it!" Diana manages to sputter through her embarrassment. "Akko and I have not done anything to justify that presumption. And if we were to have gotten to such a point it would be none of your concern. Why must you be so lewd?"

"Yeah, we only kiss a bunch!" the brunette says in an attempt to defend their innocence.

"Akko…" Diana sighs, trying to cover her blush with her hand as a stifling of giggles is heard from their surrounding friends.

Amanda narrows her eyes with a devilish quirk of her brow. "Tongue?"

"N-n…" The brunette stutters, failing to compose herself as Diana just straight up surrenders to the gaping mouths and astonished expressions of their friends around them.

_Akko...my heart… I beg of you to stop._ She mentally pleads.

"Diana!" Barbara squeals as Hannah dramatically throws a joking hand over her chest.

Genuinely surprised, Amanda simply nods her head, looking proudly between the two red-faced girls before being unceremoniously thrown over Jasminka's shoulder. Amanda doesn't fight it, instead just shooting them a thumbs up and a wink as she is carried away.

"Congratulations!" Jasminka quickly calls over her shoulder as she walks away from the embarrassed couple.

The group walks in an awkward silence for only a few steps before Constanze breaks the tension with a sneeze.

"So…" Lotte tries. "Did anybody start the English project yet?"

"Cavendish!" Diana, desperately trying to quell her blush, abruptly turns her head to the sound of her name to see the three coaches looking her way. "Can I have a word with you, please?" Nelson asks as Croix and Ursula look over with a slight conflict in their eyes.

"Of course!" The blonde clears her throat, forcing professionalism and the blush down her neck. Thankful for the excuse from the current nightmare of a situation, she looks back to her friends and fixes her girlfriend with a quick squeeze of the arm. "I'll be right back." She smiles before walking away, slowly releasing Akko's hand as she goes.

Akko's eyes follow her as she makes her way over the grouping of coaches. Watching as Diana straightens her back and nods understandingly to the Varsity coach's hushed words, Akko cocks her head curiously.

_Hmmm..._

"Euugh...yeah… I'm having a really uncomfortable time imagining you frenching..." Sucy grimaces causing the brunette to spin her head away from her attempt at eavesdropping.

"Then stop thinking about it!" She barks with a renewed blush.

Diana returns a minute or so later with a barely noticeable pinch to her brow and a haze of disappointment in her eyes, though, the second the brunette looks up at her and reconnects their hands her expression softens.

Akko was not blind to the slight slouch in her girlfriend's posture as they reunite, but figuring Diana would tell her if it was important, she thought it best to not press the matter to sate her own selfish curiosity.

* * *

However, her impatience gets the better of her by the time they arrive at her house for a study session in which Diana has  _still_  not shared the information with her. As her loving girlfriend, Akko decides it is her duty to get it out of her by any flirty means possible.

Much to her displeasure, her attempts prove to be futile and so, she has been forced to resort to begging.

"But Diaaaannnaaaaaa!" Akko groans kicking her feet like a toddler throwing a tantrum, efficiently messing up the entirety of the comforter on her bed.

"Aaaaaakkooo." The blonde replies with a matching sing song tone as she continues to try to get some studying in during their supposed study date at the brunette's house.

"Come onnn! Please please please? Tell me what they said!" The brunette crawls across her bedspread with the biggest puppy eyes Diana would ever see- if she were watching the display. "I'll leave you alone if you tell me!"

"Now why would I want that?" The blonde asks genuinely, not once taking her eyes off her book.

"Aaaaahhgh! No faiiiiir!" Akko huffs rolling herself off the bed onto the floor. "You're the worst girlfriend ever."

"Is that so?"

"Definitely."

"Well, I do apologize for that."

"Harrumph!"

The blonde turns her head ever so slightly to smile at the brunette.

Diana, holding out on telling  _mostly_  to see the adorable face the brunette makes when being teased and only  _partially_  because she's unsure of what her reaction could be, places down the book in her hands and turns to her girlfriend. She contains a humored smile as she sees her lying flat on her back with arms crossed and cheeks puffed.

Content with her result, Diana lets out a dramatic sigh. Akko's face loses its pout and looks up at the blonde in curiosity. "Very well. Just, don't say anything to anyone ye-"

"NO PROBLEM!" In an instant Akko flies off the floor in a stunning display of agility and sits herself back amongst the sheets, cross-legged, and eagerly biting her bottom lip.

With a small laugh, the blonde turns in her chair to face the shining red eyes of the girl on the bed in front of her.

"Well… It's not definite. But since Elfriede has been sick and Coach Nelson is unsure if she'll be back by tomorrow...I was asked if I could fill in her position."

"Wait." Akko raises her brows as she leans forward. "So you're going up to Varsity?"

"Possibly."

"Diana! That's so exciting!" The brunette bounces happily in front of her girlfriend. "That's awesome! She's shortstop, right? Oh! I hope I can wat- Wait!" Akko's face suddenly takes on the exact 'upset realization' expression Diana had envisioned. "But tomorrow's our last game!"

"It is…" The blonde looks apologetically at her. "But like I said… it's only if she's not back by tomorrow."

"Doesn't she have the flu?"

Diana remains silent. She knows the answer and she knows that the Varsity shortstop will more than likely not be well enough to attend tomorrow's game. Though, there's nothing wrong with hopeful thinking...

"Maaaaan! No faiiiir!" Akko groans as she throws herself backwards on the bed, further wrinkling the covers. "Why'd they have to realize you were awesome _just_  before the last game?" The brunette complains with a pout. "Oh!" She yells in a panic as she shoves herself up to look towards the blonde who had been watching her with mild amusement. "Not that I'm not happy for you! I totally am! I just mean… I mean not that you SHOULDN'T play on Vars-"

"I understand, Akko. Thank you." Diana gives Akko a comforting smile as she leaves the desk chair and sits next to her on the bed, placing a gentle hand on the other girl's knee. The brunette looks at her with a relieved smile, appreciative that the blonde seems to understand where her mind is coming from. Akko falls back onto the bed once more with splayed arms.

"It's just… it's gonna be our last game together…" the brunette grumbles.

"Well, that's not necessarily true..." Diana says as she lowers herself next to the other girl. The brunette moves her arm, allowing the blonde to tuck herself beneath it and rest her head against her chest. "We will still have next year."

"Dianaaaaa…" Akko whines.

"I know." the blonde smiles before reaching up with one hand and intertwining their fingers. "While it is unfortunate and I really would have liked to finish the season alongside you, I will still be here. The Varsity game starts before JV so I won't be missing the whole game."

"But you won't be able to PLAY with us…"

"But I'll still be able to watch  _you_  play and cheer you on from the crowd?"

Akko lets out an exasperated sigh as she plays with the blonde's fingers. "Not the saaame! Guh...Some good luck charm you are..."

Diana's eyebrow raises as a cheeky smile crawls up her lips.

"Oh? Is that all I am to you?" A flirty tone comes over the blonde's voice as she pulls their entangled hands down to her lips. "In that case I guess I'll just have to leave you with something of mine to make up for it."

Akko's face glows as she feels Diana kiss her knuckles.

Much to Akko's surprise, ever since their post-practice confession Diana had proven to be far more affectionate than she would have initially thought. She thought for sure that the blonde wouldn't want to engage in PDA around their peers, but it had been her to initiate hand holding in the hallways during the sparse times they'd see each other. She had even started to, intentionally or not, make tasteful flirtatious remarks in public that would leave the brunette in a lovestruck daze in the middle of the hallway. Not that she'd ever complain about it, ever, but Akko finds it very hard to compete with the blonde's chivalrous girlfriendalry when she does it with so little effort.

The only time she recalls besting her at 'fluster-tag' (as she had come to call their little competition) was in their biology class a few days previous. With a bat of her eyes and a slightly longer than appropriate lingering hold on the blonde's fingers before heading to her desk at the start of class (earning her a raised brow and a double take between the two from Finnelan), Akko was proud to say she could see the red last on Diana's ears until half way through the period. It was a great feeling, but now, as her heart beats, positive the blonde can hear it as she lays against her chest, she is content letting Diana win this round...for now.

"Mmmm… stop… too much luck. Luck overload." Akko grumbles as she hugs the blonde's shoulder. Diana regards her request with a soft giggle, giving the brunette's hand one last kiss before re-adjusting her position and pushing herself up.

"My sincerest apologies. Though, if you continue to insist on focusing solely on the 'date' part of this 'study date', you may find you need the additional help on your final exams."

A sour expression instantly takes over Akko's face. She sticks out her tongue with an audible  _'bleh'_  before reaching her arms out, quickly pulling the blonde back down on top of her and entrapping her in a hug. "Nevermind. I need a lot more..."

"Akko…" Diana laughs as she struggles to not lay her full weight on the brunette. She's positive Akko can hold her, but still.

"Nope…not enough." the brunette mumbles as she pulls Diana closer. Once their faces are only mere inches apart, Akko stretches her head forward, gently laying a kiss on the tip of the blonde's nose, before releasing her hold. A toothy smile spreads across the brunette's face as her hands fall to rest at the other girl's sides. "There we go."

Sparkling blue eyes look down into warm crimson as Diana holds herself above the other girl.

_I love you, Atsuko Kagari._

Dropping to her elbow, Diana takes her hand and brushes the brunette's bangs back from her forehead.

Akko melts into her touch, a spike of electricity prickles at her skin as Diana's fingers move from her hair down the side of her face to stop and rest warmly upon her cheek.

Losing herself in the brunette's expecting eyes, Diana brushes her thumb tenderly over a pinkening cheek before lowering herself to meet her girlfriend's waiting lips.

Both girl's eyes flutter shut just as they had during their first time outside of the school, but now with the familiarity of the last couple weeks and a little more practice under their belts, the two begin to slowly experiment in deepening their kiss.

Akko trails her hand up around the back of the other girl's neck, running her fingers through tresses of blonde as-

_KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!_

With a muffled grunt into her girlfriend's mouth, Akko tenses up in a panic, accidentally pulling Diana's hair as the two frantically rush to separate themselves.

"Y-yeah?" Akko jumps up, calling out hoarsely to whoever had knocked.

"Akko, honey. Did you ask if Diana would like to stay over for dinner tonight?" Akko's mother calls from the other side of the door.

"A-eh?" Blushing, Akko whips her head around questioningly to face the blonde staring at nothing in particular with impossibly large eyes.

Bright red, startled, and unsure of the breathy sound that left her mouth and the  _very interesting_ feeling that came over her when Akko had pulled her hair, Diana clears her throat and attempts to compose herself before answering her girlfriend's mother.

_What...the living hell...was that…?_

"Th-thank you Mrs. Kagari, but I…  _ehem_... promised Anna I would be home for dinner with my Aunt and cousins tonight. Though, I truly appreciate the offer."

"Of course, dear! Don't hesitate to let me know if your plans change, we will have plenty of leftovers so don't be shy to ask for a plate. Anyone willing to help my daughter read is welcome at my table."

"Thank you, and I'll see what I can do." The blonde smiles, winking jokingly at the brunette.

"Okay Okaasan!" Akko grumbles loudly trying to rush the conversation. "Thank you. Byeeeee."

"You girls keep studying! And don't make me have to come back and open the door!" Mrs. Kagari calls back. Both girls freeze, horrified at the implication before listening to the woman's footsteps fade down the hallway.

The two girls face each other with mild embarrassment before Akko slowly bursts into quiet giggles, Diana following suit shortly after. As their laughter fades, deciding that perhaps now is probably not the time to continue with their previous activity, Diana leans in and places a quick peck on the brunette's forehead before falling back and laying onto the bed. Akko, sharing the thought, follows her lead and falls back to lay shoulder to shoulder with the blonde. Their hands find one another and they lay connected by warm, relaxed fingers.

Akko snorts softly. "Well… I think my mom found us out…"

"You don't say." Diana chuckles, mindlessly rubbing her thumb over the brunette's knuckles.

Temporarily setting aside thoughts of exams and inevitable conversations with parents, the two girls fall into a relaxing silence, basking in the blissful warmth and safety of the other's touch

As Diana stares up towards Akko's ceiling, noting leftover adhesive from what looks like glow-in-the-dark stars, a soft warmth blooms in her chest lulling her eyes to close.

Diana was happy. Far happier than she thought she would ever be with another person. This girl, despite constantly keeping her on the edge of her seat is somehow the first to introduce her to the feeling of being truly at peace.

She would never have imagined when the first time she saw Atsuko Kagari walk into Finnelan's classroom, that she would fall madly in love with her by the years end. She was clumsy, and loud, and stubborn, and behaved as though her actions would yield no consequence, and yet, now as she lays quietly beside her, it feels as though that first meeting was merely a lesson to show her that true happiness presents itself in the most unexpected of ways.

Diana turns her head to look at the brunette lying with her eyes closed and a content smile, facing the same stars that had just caught her attention. A matching smile crawls across her own lips as she continues to lovingly watch the steady breath of the girl beside her.

No matter how much time they spend with one another, Diana's heart continues to play the quick paced song it has reserved for the brunette. Never slowing, never less beautiful, the song continues to play just as crimson eyes continue to captivate between their every blink. The melody, once frightening, is now associated with citrus and kindness unlike any she believes herself to be deserving of. It fills her with an overwhelming desire to be better— for herself, and for the girl who has made her world bright.

"You're gonna kick so much butt on Varsity." The brunette squeezes the blonde's hand pulling her out of her thoughts. Akko slowly opens loving eyes and turns to face cerulean. "Even though we'll miss you, know we'll all be rooting for you, okay?"

Diana smiles, returning the squeeze of Akko's hand. "Just as I expect you to know that I will be doing the same for you."

The brunette's smile widens for a moment before it falls and a frustrated sigh escapes her lips.

"But still… Of  _course_  they only ask you to come up during the very last game…"

Diana bites her lip before looking away sheepishly. "Actually…"

The brunette looks at her, eyes transforming from affectionate to inquiring and eyebrows high with curiosity.

"Please forgive me if this somehow comes off as… arrogant, but..." Akko squints her eyes pointedly at the blonde. "I... had originally been given the option between JV and Varsity at the start of the season."

"Wait, you what!?" Akko exclaims sitting up. "They said you were good enough to be on Varsity and you  _stayed_  on JV?! Why would you do that?"

"There were… several factors..." the blonde blushes as she pushes herself up to shyly meet the other girl's eyes, conveying her message of just how long the brunette had plagued her mind. "But the largest was that I could not in good conscience leave Hannah and Barbara alone with Amanda."

A hearty laugh leaves Akko's throat as Diana shrugs her shoulders.

"This season was tame in comparison to how they were on travelling, it was a relief to see such a large change in behavior."

"Well…" Akko says after a moment of trying to quiet her laughter. "I'm really glad you decided to stay on JV. Even though I would have  _totally_  gotten to play shortstop if you weren't here." Akko says with a playful pout.

"I have no question of that." Diana smiles. "I am very happy I stayed as well. I doubt Varsity would have afforded me the same experience." She says raising the brunette's fingers to her lips and kissing them one last time before resting both of their hands on the bed. "I would not trade it for the world."

A bright blush conquers Akko's cheeks as she let out an anguished groan. "Ahhh! Diaannaaaa!"

"Y-yes?" The blonde asks cautiously, confused by the reaction.

_W-was that too much?_

"I'm sorry… did I-" Her worry is cut off by Akko's lips pressing aggressively into her own. Just as quickly as they had made contact, they were pulled away leaving Diana wide-eyed and dumbstruck.

"I don't even know how else to respond to that?!" Akko throws her hands up in the air and stares frustratedly at the blonde.

Still pleasantly taken back by the sudden kiss, the blonde merely blinks at the brunette as a slightly humored smile climbs up her lips. "Sh-should you like me to stop?"

"Noo," Akko huffs in aggravation as she crosses her arms in front of her with a slight satisfaction at the blonde's stutter. "Just… I give up... You win fluster-tag..."

Diana looks at her incredulously. Completely unaware there had been a competition in place, with a confused squint she holds up a hand. "I'm sorry...did you just say  _tag_?"

* * *

Despite the lively conversation taking place as usual, a wave of bittersweet anticipation washes over Akko, Lotte, and Sucy as they step into locker room the following morning.

"So, wait... If a zombie bites a vampire does that mean the vampire would turn into a zombie? Or the other way around?" Akko squints as she scratches her chin.

"Well…" Lotte says removing her bag from her shoulder and placing it against her locker, "A vampire's already undead, so technically a vampire is just a zombie who has a more controlled sense of free will...right?"

"So like… a vampire is just an  _advanced_  zombie?" Akko looks to her friends for clarification. They each shrug in response.

"Ah yes, good to see young minds really cracking down on the major issues of the times." Coach Croix grins at them as she and Ursula walk across the locker room. "Good morning ladies."

"Good morning Coach!" The locker room calls back enthusiastically.

"You girls ready for today?" The assistant coach smiles, "It's always a little sad right before the last game, but don't let it get to you. There is still plenty to look forward to."

"Yeah, like maybe Akko kicking her cleat off and hitting the second baseman in the butt again." Sucy grins side eyeing the brunette.

Croix quickly covers her mouth with her hand to stifle a laugh before quickly retreating to the coach's office in an attempt to save face.

"N-not exactly." Ursula tries to hold back a snort, remembering the event in all of its glory, before quickly following in her fiancé's wake.

"Hey! It was ONE TIME!" Akko yells embarrassedly.

"Yeah, but no one's forgetting that anytime soon." Sucy giggles.

"It was an accident!" Akko turns away from her laughing friends with crossed arms before suddenly being bumped backwards.

As she fights for her balance, she feels a familiar warm hand grab her shoulder to stabilize her. Quite certain of who she'd see, the brunette looks up unsurprised into soft blue eyes.

"Careful." Diana smiles, winking as she gives Akko's shoulder a light squeeze. "I do hope you have more awareness on the field."

"Hah hah, very funny." The brunette straightens herself before taking Diana's hand from her shoulder and intertwining their fingers. "Maybe you should watch where you're going."

The blonde quirks her eyebrow playfully. "Well, it appears we still both have room to improve..."

"Gross." Sucy states blankly before walking away past a giggling Lotte.

"Good morning, Diana." Lotte grins as she watches the blonde and brunette bump one another's shoulders playfully. "I want to thank you again for your help on my history paper."

"Oh, I would hardly call that help." The blonde smiles at the redheaded girl as Akko gently swings their joined hands. "Proofreading maybe, but even so, there was hardly anything I felt needed adjustment. I'd be happy to look over anything in the future if you'd like."

"Only if you wouldn't mind." Lotte smiles.

"Yo! Lovebirds." Amanda barges in, slinging her arms over Akko and Diana's shoulders and pulling them close. "I'm throwing a party for JV after the game with all the bet money I won this season. You guys gonna make it or what?"

"Heck yes!" Akko beams. "At your house?"

"Nah! I won enough to rent out the cafe around the corner and get karaoke."

"SERIOUSLY?" Akko's eyebrows shoot to her hairline as the redhead nods.

"What on Earth did you bet on to win that much money?" Diana narrows her eyes at the redhead, afraid she knows the answer. Amanda merely responds with a guilty smile.

"Let's just say some of the teachers wanted in." Diana gasps in shock as the redhead speed walks away.

_That must be against school policy!_

"Don't worry." Hannah says as she and Barbara slide up next to the two girls staring disbelievingly at their retreating redhead.

"You're not the only ones she bet on." Barbara says blankly.

Once the girls stop filtering into the locker room, the three coaches step out into the middle of the room to address their teams.

"Alright everyone, please take a seat." Nelson says powerfully as she tucks her clipboard beneath her arm. "We would like to say a couple things before heading out today."

The clatter of bags being moved and giggles of girls as they squeeze into available bench space (and watch Jasminka, Amanda, and Constanze all sitting on top of one another) is heard throughout the locker room as the three older women look on patiently.

As she takes her seat between Diana and Lotte, Akko looks around the room at everyone uniformed and ready to head out to the field— much to her expected disappointment, Elfriede is nowhere to be seen.

"Alright ladies, I would like to start off with a big thank you for a great season. I've been doing this for a while, but this is a first for the JV coaches." She says gesturing to the two women standing at her side, "And from what I've heard it doesn't seem like you've scared them off just yet. So, better luck next year, O'Neill." Nelson looks over to the redhead with a joking smile and a wink. The locker room falls into humored giggles as Amanda shoots finger guns and a matching wink back towards the Varsity coach.

"Now, Varsity, as you know, Elfriede has been out ill for the last week and unfortunately will not be able to join us. So, for today's game we will have Miss Diana Cavendish filling in for shortstop."

A shy smile pulls across Diana's lips as the Varsity team claps and whistles in welcome. The JV team, while also clapping in genuine support of their friend and teammate, can't help but bite their tongues at the blatant feeling that she had been taken from them unfairly.

Clapping her hands enthusiastically beside her girlfriend, Akko bumps Diana's shoulder before leaning in to whisper in her ear. "You're gonna be amazing."

Diana's smile goes from shy to warm as she feels Akko clap her on the back and wrap her arm around her shoulders.

"Yes, good. Thank you, Diana, we are looking forward to having you." Nelson clears her throat regaining control of the room. "Now, being our final game of the season, I want each of you girls to know that no matter what the outcome of today, all your hard work and dedication over the last few months, each practice where you laid your all out on the field, has made you stronger, smarter, more powerful young women. We have seen you grow immensely since the start of the season, some of you longer— but you should all know that despite the amount of time of you being a Witch we are proud to see you as the athletes you are today. You've done a good job… but that doesn't mean you're done… which…" She says looking over happily towards the JV coaches, "leads us to a few words from Coach… C."

Ursula hesitates for only a moment before stepping forward with a nervous smile towards Nelson and then the rest of the room. "Hello, girls, First, I would also like to thank you for such a wonderful season. I had a great time working with all of you and I hope that you feel you came out of this season learning something you didn't know when you first stepped into this locker room."

Amanda leans back and whispers in Jasminka's ear. "I can name a few who definitely  _came out_  learning something new."

Akko shoots her a glare and Mary elbows her, careful not to hit Jasminka or Constanze.

"My experience as a student playing on this team, to this day, hold to be some of my most treasured memories. And so, in order for me to honor them properly and to encourage you girls to be your best selves, there is something I feel I should share with you."

Akko's arm goes slack around Diana's shoulders as her jaw drops.

_No way! Oh my god… is Professor? Is she…?_

Akko's wide red eyes make contact with Coach Croix's teal ones already looking back at her. As the older woman gives her a small smile and an affirming raise of her eyebrows, the brunette's mouth climbs into an ear to ear smile before she whips her full attention back to her idol.

"After I graduated from Luna Nova I had played college ball at Polaris and had then been scouted to play for a major league team. At the time, I went by the name Chariot DuNord." A few whispers make their way around the locker room as anyone who had heard Akko fangirl over Chariot DuNord (everyone) turns to look at the brunette watching in quiet elation. Her teacher looks over to her with a thankful smile before continuing. "If any of you have any knowledge of what happened... my leg had gotten seriously injured in the beginning of the season, preventing me from continuing. As I was recovering, there were a lot of things said that, while untrue, were far more than I could handle…. Than I  _felt_  I could handle... Ever since, I took on the name Ursula Callistis in an attempt to move forward without the burden of what had happened."

Croix brings her hand up to rest on the other woman's shoulder with a silent proud squeeze. Chariot, who had for the most part kept her nerves beneath her surface takes a shaky breath "I… don't really suppose many of you particularly see the importance of me telling you this, but please allow me to apologize for not being completely honest with you all beforehand. I wanted you girls to hear this from me… I am sorry again."

"I coached this young woman." Nelson cuts in as the younger woman finishes, turning the attention of everyone in the locker room to herself. "And time and time again she proves to be stronger than I can imagine. For any of you who had heard of the accusations against her, I promise you, anything more than a little underage drinking before a junior playoff game never happened."

Croix and Chariot's eyes widen as they look over to the older woman in fear.

_Shit. She did know…_

"So… wait…" Amanda says with a scrunched brow. "You're  _actually_  an ex-major league ball player?"

"Though it was only for two games, technically yes." Chariot says with a nervous smile.

"Well, that's pretty dope." The redhead shrugs as Constanze and Jasminka nod their heads. "So… are you Coach…. DuNord now or somethin'?"

A relieved smile spreads across her face. "If you would like to call me that, yes."

"You're awfully calm about all of this…" Lotte whispers into Akko's ear as Chariot begins fielding a couple of 'celebrity' and 'college-league experience' questions from the upperclassmen in the room.

"Oh, I already freaked out about it…" Akko continues to stare forward and listen to her favorite teacher's wisdom and experience as her friends look at her questioningly.

"Alright, alright. We're getting on game time, lets wrap it up." Giving Chariot another proud squeeze of the shoulder, Croix butts in, cutting off the questions stacking up before her pleasantly frazzled fiancé. "If you have more questions you can stay after during the week for office hours."

The locker room quiets as Coach Croix steps forward and clears her throat. "Along the lines of what Coach Nelson had said, you girls truly have grown into remarkable young women over the last few months. All of your hard work shows in you as individuals and how you work with one another as a team. Though our record  _maayyy_  leave a little to be desired, I am proud to be able to say I had the opportunity to work with all of you girls." Croix pauses for a moment before clapping her hands and raising her voice. "But remember, we are not done yet. There is still plenty of time to disappoint us. So, let's get out there and try to go out with a bang, ey?"

"YES COACH!" The locker room yells bursting with energy.

"Alright," Croix smiles. "JV. We are down a girl for our last game. Miss Cavendish has been  _stolen_ from us..." Teal eyes jokingly glare at a shrugging Nelson. "So... that leaves us with an open position!" The lilac-haired woman looks around, already positive on where to stop her eyes. "Miss Kagari. Would you like to fill shortstop today?"

The locker room grows quiet as all eyes turn to the brunette looking back at her coach as though she has three heads.

…

...

_Whuh?_

It takes Akko a moment before she can respond. Her mind is still on her teacher telling her to call her Chariot not a minute before- everything else is still in the processing stage. In complete disbelief of what may or may not have just been asked of her, Akko meekly points a finger towards herself as her eyebrows raise in question at the older woman holding her gaze.

The lilac-haired coach nods with an amused quirk to her brow.

Seemingly registering this in slow motion, Akko's eyes widen to the size of… well…softballs.

"HAAAAHHHHH?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Intentional fluff is hard.


	26. Root For The Home Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is time for the final game and Akko at last has the opportunity to fulfill the vision she's had since trying out. While the Sol Academy Racers prove to be a challenging foe, the Luna Nova Witches make sure to leave their hearts on the field.

 

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" Akko shouts causing everyone in a four-foot radius from her to cringe.

"Yes," Croix says lifting her hand to her ringing ear. "But if you'd rather not, then-"

"NO! NO! I DO! I DO! I WANT TO! PLEASE!" Akko yells practically jumping out of her seat. A chorus of laughter and giggling spreads through the locker room as the girls watch the brunette squeal and wiggle uncontrollably.

_OH MY GOD WHAT IS GOING ON?! THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE._

After several hefty pats on the back from her friends with Diana holding her arm to keep her from falling over due to the force, Akko minimizes her exuberant flailing down to spirited leg bounce and an immovable grin as she waits for her coach to continue.

"Alright. It's good to see you're enthusiastic about it. I would never had guessed." Croix says jokingly, prompting another round of giggles from the girls in the locker room. "Now that that's out of the way, our game today is against the Sol Academy Racers. We have not played against them before because of a rain-out, and so have no reference as to how this game could go. Just know that they were our main rivals to beat when Chariot and I were playing." Croix looks over towards the assistant coach, who nods in confirmation.

"Their coach has been doing this as long as I have." Nelson says putting her hands to her hips. "If they play anything like they used to, this game will not be easy. So, if you want to win, make sure you push until the very end. Are you ladies ready?"

"Yes Coach!"

"One more time! I'm positive Kagari was louder than all of you combined about a minute ago!"

"YES COACH!"

"There we go!" Nelson claps her hand to her note board. "Alright ladies let's head on out! Grab your things and some warm up gear. Varsity we're starting earlier so as soon as we get to the field I want to see you throwing."

"Yes Coach!" The girls from the Varsity team (and Diana, whose arm is being squeezed supportively by her girlfriend) yell obediently.

"JV," Croix starts. "We've got time for a short practice before our game starts, I don't want to see you wasting it! Don't embarrass us out there." She jokes, earning an elbow in the side from her fiancé.

"No promises, Coach!" Amanda laughs as she Constanze and Jasminka rise from their human chair tower.

The older woman cracks a grin as she and the two other coaches throw their hands forward. "Alright ladies, what do you say?"

The girls in the room scramble forward to take their places among the huge growing pile of hands.

"ONE! TWO! THREE!"

"WITCHES!"

* * *

The morning sun is beautiful as they walk out onto the dewy field leaving their cleats wet and covered in fragments of freshly cut grass. As they make their way to the field, the two teams push down the bittersweet anticipation of farewells for the passionate motivation of aiming for one last victory with one another.

It feels just like any other time walking out and getting ready for a game. The field getting closer with every march through the grass, the laughter and conversation of pumped-up teammates, the clink of helmets and bats knocking against each other from within bat bags. All is as it has been for months, except for the distinct lack of Akko's voice as she silently panics.

_Oh god oh god oh god oh god. What am I gonna do? I'm so excited, but I haven't actually played shortstop before! Oh geez… and now Chariot's gonna be watching and… oh man can I really do this?_

_I can totally do this. I watched a bunch of Chariot's games…_

_But I also listen to a lot of music and that doesn't mean I know how to sing!_

_And this team is supposed to be really really good. What if I mess up and make us lose!? Then everybody's gonna blame me… what was Coach Croix thinking?!_

_Okay okay okay… it's totally gonna be fine. I'll just figure it out. It's gonna be okay._

_I've wanted to do this for like… forever… and now I have my chance. I just have to do my best._

_One step at a time._

_But what if-_

"Are you nervous?" Akko is taken out of her thoughts by the sound of Diana's voice and a light tug on the shoulder of her uniform. "I've noticed you tend to be when you scrunch your nose." The blonde says with a soft smile.

Relaxing her nose, Akko mimics her smile and scratches the back of her head. "A... little. To be honest."

"What are you worried about?"

"Don't you think maybe they should have chosen someone else to play shortstop? For this last game?"

"Why should I think that?"

"I mean… like, I've never ACTUALLY played the position before… I've just kinda… y'know… watched…" Akko looks down to her grass clipping covered cleats. "I don't want to lose the game for everybody... if someone else can do it better…"

"Is that truly how you feel?"

Akko shrugs doubtfully.

"Well… while you may think that I'm saying this because you are special to me... I don't believe the coaches made an error in asking you specifically."

The brunette looks up with skeptical eyes.

"You being chosen, while perhaps influenced by your interest in the position due to it's symbolic nature with Coach Ca-... DuNord... is rightfully due to your hard work and improvement. You may not think so, but based on your recent performance you have proven to be more than capable. I'm confident the offering of the position to you was not meant as a charity... you've earned it."

"You think?"

"I do... And now... _because_  you  _are_  special to me…" The blonde smiles. "I am going to say that I am happy it will be you taking my place."

"Pssh...I wouldn't say  _that_ …" Akko chuckles as she waves the idea away from inflating her ego. "I'm pretty sure no one can take  _your_  place."

"You think far too highly of me." Diana says with a light laugh. "While I am inclined to believe that your opinion may have a bit of a bias, I would like you to know that I hold you to the same irreplaceability."

A bright grin stretches across the brunette's face before she affectionately nudges the blonde's shoulder with her own.

"You will do great… try not to glorify the position and you'll have nothing to worry about…" Diana pauses, a twinge of nervousness coming over her. "Though…"

_Come on… you rehearsed this..._

"There  _is_  something of mine I wished to give you for good luck, if you feel that it be necessary." The blonde looks away with a shy blush. "If not, I still believe the color would complement you."

Akko looks at her girlfriend curiously as she reaches into her back pocket and pulls out a length of blue ribbon. As she places it in Akko's hand, ruby eyes admire the blue strand before rising to meet the matching color of Diana's irises.

"It's a little silly... erm...it's just a hair tie I wore during the first championship game Hannah, Barbara and I played together. We had won… so, ever since, I've kept it in my bat bag as a token of good luck." The blonde flits her eyes downward, slightly self-conscious of her next request. "And I'd like for you to wear it…if you wish, of course.

Akko looks back down at the smooth ribbon in her hands as a warmth takes over her chest. "But… what about you? It's your good luck charm."

"Cavendish! Varsity's over this way!" Nelson yells looking over towards the two girls. They had not realized that the two groups had begun to separate and head to their adjacent fields.

"I apologize! I will be right there!" Diana calls back with a slight embarrassment to her tone before returning to face the brunette with softened eyes. "I no longer believe it will work for me..." she says rubbing her thumb over the ribbon and off of Akko's hand. "I'm certain I had used up my claim to luck once you granted me your attention. Knowing it had allowed me that, I couldn't be more satisfied with the exchange."

Akko squeezes her eyes shut as a bright red comes over Akko's cheeks. "Ohhhhhh! Stooop iiiit..." She groans. "You...you can't just say stuff like thaaaaat..."

_AND I CAN'T JUST KISS YOU TO MAKE YOU STOP LIKE YESTERDAY!_

"I haven't the slightest of clues as to what you are talking about." The blonde gives her a playfully coy smile.

_Seems I've won our game of tag again, my dear._

At the sight of her sufficiently reddened girlfriend, Diana allows her victory to sit proudly on her shoulders for just a moment before taking a quick look towards the Varsity team arriving at their field.

Akko playfully bumps her shoulder again, causing the return of Diana's attention to bright red eyes and matching cheeks. With a smile showing complete acceptance of her loss, the brunette wraps her fingers around the length of ribbon.

"Well, luck or not, I'll be rooting for you. I'm sure you're gonna be as amazing as always." She looks down to the blue tie in her hand. "And with this, there's no way we'll lose."

A blush creeps onto Diana's face before reclaiming the brunette's hand and locking her eyes on red. "Ribbon or not, it's  _you_  I believe in."

With one last smile, Diana quickly kisses Akko's hand before turning away and running to catch up with the rest of the Varsity team entering their dugout.

Akko's heart pounds as she watches Diana jog off. She doesn't think she'll ever really get over the fact that the blonde reciprocates her feelings.

"KICK SOME BUTT!" she shouts after her as she rubs her fingers over the blue ribbon in her hand.

_I can do this... Dia-_

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY." Amanda pops up at Akko's side causing her to jump in surprise.

"Did you just completely forget the rest of us were standing here?" Sucy squints judgingly.

"Seriously, we need to tell Diana to take it down a notch. She's making the rest of us look bad." Barbara huffs as she and Hannah walk with their arms draped loosely around one another's hips.

"I think it was cute." Jasminka hums.

"Guys! Stooooop!" Akko whines as a tiny smile pulls at her lips before relenting to the light-hearted teasing. For Diana, she'd endure any amount of it.

* * *

After a majority of the generic pre-game practice—stretches, throwing, running, and the like— the Witches take the field for drills as they continue to wait for the start of their game against the Racers.

As she has the entire season, Akko heads into the outfield out of habit to practice with the assistant coach. It takes until Sucy reminds her that shortstop is a part of the infield to realize that she would be practicing with Coach Croix instead. Chariot gives her a little thumbs up as she sheepishly makes her way towards the dirt before commencing with drills in left field.

She is welcomed to the infield by Amanda announcing her arrival with the mock voice of an eccentric commentator.

"RUNNING ONTO THE INFIELD FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME, THE ASTOUNDING, THE BREATHTAKING, THE SHORTEST OF STOPS... THE ONE AND ONLY— AKKO KAGARIIIIII!"

Met with a few entertained snorts, Akko hustles into her position between Hannah and Barbara. She stands in the what she imagines to be Diana's footholds with a humored pout before playing along with Amanda and taking a grandiose bow.

"Nice of you to make it, Kagari." Croix gives her a laugh as she stands waiting with bat pulled back and ball ready in hand. "You ready?"

"Y-yes Coach!" Akko yells nervously as she rises from her bow. "I hope so!"

"Good to hear. That makes two of us. OKAAAY LADIES!" The lilac-haired coach hollers out as she tosses the ball into the air and whips the bat around her shoulders. At the ting of aluminum, Akko, alongside everyone else, instantly drops into a squat and readies their gloves. The ball shoots across the infield in a cloud of orange dirt before Hannah sprints forward to pick it off the ground. "PLAY IS TO FIRST!"

Practicing for shortstop is definitely different than the outfield... For one, there is no grass to slow the ball as it comes skipping across the field. Secondly, there are a lot of different plays and circumstances on when and where or who to back up.

For one play, Akko finds her way on second. For another, she's on third. Others, she's back behind Hannah or Barbara as they cover their position's base just in case it flies past them. She knows where and when and who to cover just from the experience of watching Diana, Chariot, and just about  _every_  other softball game— shortstop had always been her goal position after all— but as she stands in the position she has for so long dreamed of, with each ring of the coach's bat, she can't help but feel that the unpredictability of the ever nearing game will leave her sure mind blank.

While the practice goes well (being relatively simple low stress warm-ups), as the girls filter into the dugout the nerves that come about at the start of every game begin to crash down on everyone when Croix and Chariot gather them up for their group huddle.

"Okay ladies. I'm pretty sure we covered everything in the locker room already so I will keep this brief." The head coach looks around warmly at the jitter-stricken group she's come to see as a second family. The bittersweet feeling, she hopes  _must_  get easier as the years and seasons go on ( _how does Nelson do this?!),_ sits heavily on her heart as she comes to the realization that the only thing keeping her from a wobbly bottom lip is knowing that she'll get the chance to see these girls the following year.

"Whatever happens today, win or lose, I want you ladies to finish this season enjoying being a part of it. These other girls are very good, they have been practicing just as hard, if not harder than we have, so, to beat them, you're going to have to work as a team and help each other. As I've seen over the past few months, I have to say with the utmost confidence that I am not worried in the sli~ghtest." The lilac-haired woman curses herself as she clears her throat in an attempt to mask the waver threatening her resolve.

_Fuck. Keep it together Meridies. Don't get emotional._

Chariot notices the crack in her fiancés voice and with a humored smile puts a hand on her back and leans forward.

_You were close..._

"So," Chariot picks up where Croix left off, "Have some fun and let's make it a good game, alright?"

"Yes Coach!"

"Beautiful!" Chariot beams and she and Croix throw their hands inwards at the center of the group, almost immediately followed by twelve other hands meeting them. "You know what to do!"

"ONE!...TWO!...THREE!"

"WITCHES!"

"Alright girls get out there!" Coach Chariot cheers with the clap of her hands as the girls break from their huddle and jog out of the dugout.

"Something got caught in my throat…" Croix, with a light blush across her cheeks, leans over to her fiancé in a pitiful attempt to explain herself.

"I know, my love."

With her blue hair ribbon fastened around her ponytail, Akko moves alongside her teammates towards the field. After a few parting words from Lotte and Sucy, consisting of "Good luck" and "Don't make Diana look too good", Akko watches the two run out towards their positions in the outfield as she hesitates at the edge of the grass.

_This is it._

Despite the butterflies taking flight in her stomach, she squares her shoulders in an attempt to convince herself of her ability and looks out to the field before her with a set jaw. Taking one last deep breath and crossing her fingers in silent prayer, she steps out onto the dirt of the infield to take her position.

The ground felt hard. Far harder than it had been all season. The amount of time she's run down the baseline, slid through dirt and chalk coloring her pants orange, not once had the ground felt as solid and unforgiving as it does now. It hadn't changed since the practice barely 10 minutes prior, but as she stands surrounded by her teammates with the opponent's batter far closer than she's used to, it feels as though she were playing on the edge of a cliff.

_I can do this. I can do this. Just playin' some softball. Like I do every day. Just pretend it's like the outfield._

_Except it's totally different._

_Oh my god. It's just catching and running and throwing right? I WAS SO EXCITED FOR THIS BEFORE WHY AM I SO NERVOUS NOW?!_

_WHOOO Okay. No panicking. Chariot HERSELF gave ME her number. She completely, totally, super believes in me. I can do it. I can do it. It's no big deal._

_What did Diana say? Not to glorify the position, right?_

_But...it was Chariot's position… and it's HER position. Oh man. Now I have to live up to both of them!_

"Hey, Akko."

The brunette, fresh from her thoughts with clear worry etched across her face, turns towards third base at the sound of her name.

Half expecting to be on the receiving end of a snide comment, Akko is surprised to see Hannah looking back at her kindly. "You're gonna be fine... It's just another game, you know?"

Despite the twinge of panic still firing beneath her skin, the look of genuine reassurance on the auburn-haired girl's face eases her worry just a little.

Akko had thought she would have gotten used to it by now, but she still finds herself taken back at every instance of Hannah and Barbara being more or less  _nice_  to her.

While they had gotten closer over the season of being together, it really only seems like they had become  _friends_ of sorts since she and Diana had gotten together. Though she expects it could just be because her girlfriend may have told her best friends to ease up on her… Still… they seem to be liking her more than just tolerating her, so, with that in mind, she is happy to take their kindness at face value.

Although their teasing persists (as expected and undoubtedly deserved), she finds she actually enjoys the other couple's company amongst their group of friends. A lot really has changed.

Taking a shaky breath, Akko forces a small appreciative smile and nods her head with a determined pinch of her brow.

Satisfied, Hannah returns her nod and faces back towards the batter stepping up to the plate. A playful grin spreads across her lips as she looks back over towards the brunette from the corner of her eye. "And make sure you remember to call for the ball… no offense, but I'm not interested in any accidental groping today."

After hearing Amanda snort back laughter on the mound and noting a quick joking glare from Barbara, Akko lowers her hat in a poor attempt to hide her growing blush.

"ALRIGHT LADIES!" The umpire yells, lowering his caged helmet and settling behind Constanze shuffling behind home plate. "PLAY BALL!"

* * *

To her horror, the very first hit comes skidding across the field straight at her. By some miracle she manages to stop the ball just before it passes through her legs. However, in her haste, she stumbles on the pickup and by the time she makes the throw to Jasminka's glove, the player—Vorn, as heard from the opponent teams' cheers, had already passed over first base in a blur.

Despite the outcome being a little sloppy, it was the first of many plays to get her head on the right track.

It takes three full innings of ground balls, base covering, and backing away at Hannah and Amanda's call until the nervous jitters coursing through her veins vanish and become reborn as determination. As her confidence grows, she watches each pitch with an almost predatory excitement, bouncing on her toes ready to run whichever way she is needed. The anxiety she had felt at the start pales in comparison to the exhilaration of the game as she finds herself feeling more and more at home in her patch of dirt between second and third base.

Despite a few pointers Coach Chariot had given her (which Akko freaked out about afterwards because… HOLY CRAP, CHARIOT DUNORD JUST GAVE HER SHORTSTOP TIPS), she had been reassured that she had been doing pretty well for a first timer in the position.

She's sure if Diana had been playing, the few little mess-ups she had probably wouldn't have happened, but still… Akko may not be the best shortstop, but, hell, she was having a great time not being the worst.

During their time at bat, the Witches feel they have been facing quite possibly the most aggressive pitcher, (even by Amanda's standards) of the entire season. This girl is  _fast_. When she releases the ball, it leaves her hand like a rocket threatening to burst apart at the seams. Akko is quite certain that if they had faced this team earlier in the year, there is no way she would be able to get a hit off of them, but after her tireless hours in practice and one on one sessions with Amanda or the batting cages, she is delighted to find that she isn't having as hard a time gauge the pitches as she thought.

While the Racers (who Akko determines take their team name VERY seriously), have no absence of hits and impressive base running, the Witches find they are nearly evenly matched going into the fourth inning, finding themselves down only by a single run.

As Amanda winds up her arm, readying the pitch, Akko's eyes flit between the runner on first who she recognizes as the pitcher, making a bold lead towards second base and the short, owl-ish looking girl up at bat.

_TING!_

At the sound of the bat and the sight of the ball shooting between Barbara and Jasminka, Akko sprints to second base, touching the bag with the toe of her cleat and holding out her waiting glove in anticipation of a double play.

After diving into the dirt to keep it from the outfield, Barbara manages to toss the ball from the ground to Jasminka's glove just before the batter touches the rubber of the base. However, while the batter grumbles potent curses on her way back to the dugout, the girl who had been on first, Chilby— as suggested by the deafening screaming of her teammates— with an astounding speed, launches herself around Akko and off of second base stopping herself on third before Amanda can retrieve the ball from the first baseman.

Although being genuinely impressed by the speed of the other girl, the Witches huff in frustration as they attempt to catch their breath while resetting themselves into their positions across the field. Through the sound of the Witches commending Barbara and Jasminka and the opponent team cheering on the runner who had reached third base, the  _ting_  of a bat coming from the nearby Varsity field draws Akko's attention.

As she looks over, just as she has been regularly doing when given the chance, she sees a mane of blonde hair running across the neighboring field with her glove held high. She feels herself worrying her lip hoping desperately to hear the sound of ball meeting leather. While she cannot make out the sound, nor what the rest of the Varsity girls say to her as they head into the dugout after ending the inning, a fulfilling warmth takes over her chest as she proudly watches her girlfriend be barraged with high fives from the older players.

A smile comes over her face as she quietly claps her hand and glove together to applaud the blonde's play. While she is so very happy to be playing shortstop, she does wish she could have been able to watch and cheer Diana on from the sidelines. Girlfriend or not, the Varsity game, from what she can tell, was proving to be a good one.

She continues to smile as she reaches up to the back of her hat to gently touch the lucky ribbon trailing down over her hair. Even if she couldn't be there with her, at least she still has a piece of her nearby.

* * *

The game continues as a fast tug of war of runs as the Witches fight to keep the difference in score low. It's clear to everyone that both teams were playing to their highest caliber and were not going to take a loss to the other without a fight, however, as the game draws closer to an end and the Racers score a couple runs off a triple in the first half of the sixth inning, surpassing the slight lead the Witches had just gained the inning prior, frustration begins to settle onto the sweat and dirt laden girls huffing on the field

_We still have time to come back. We have two more at bats and we can totally make up those runs. We just have to hold them…_

Akko grunts as she grits her teeth and falls into a squat. She bounces on her toes tiredly, her eyes trained on the red-headed girl approaching the plate.

_Okay, we only need one more out... The last time this chick was up it went to left field, so if she does that again, I have to make sure I'm there for the cutoff or on second just in case—_

"Let's go girls! Show 'em what you've got!"

Strategic inner monologue forgotten, Akko's head whips to the side excitedly at the sound of the familiar voice.

_They're done already?_

Her hair a mess and her pants smeared with dirt and grass stains, Diana stands cheering against the fence of the dugout with a smile threatening to render the brunette breathless.

_How the heck can she still be so pretty when she's a total mess?! Geez… that is so not fair._

_I can't wait to hear how her game went._

Looking around the sidelines she sees the rest of the Varsity team, in similar states of disarray, piling onto the bleachers looking over left field. The expressive laughter and good-natured cheering leads Akko to believe that they had left their own field victorious.

Quickly snapping out of her stance, Akko stands up and waves to the blonde with a childish glee earning a bright smile and a little wave in return.

"Quit distracting our fielders, Cavendish! You're gonna make us lose!" Amanda shouts from the pitcher's mound sparing the blonde a tired, yet playful smile.

"My apologies!" She yells back not at all apologetically as she returns a wave at Hannah and Barbara's greeting. With one last look at her girlfriend's face Diana takes a breath and begins clapping with the same fervor Akko had laid out at their very first game. "You can do it girls! Keep it up! You've got them!"

At the sound of Diana's cheers, a tickle of nervousness flutters in Akko's throat as she looks away and resets herself into position.

_Okay! Diana's watching… Gotta show her what I can do!_

_Sure we're dating… but that doesn't mean she's not still my rival!_

She drags the tip of her glove on the ground marking a quick heart in the dirt.

_This one's for you…_

She could not be less happy with the play following her declaration.

The redhead ended up hitting a double just inside the right field foul line. It should not have been a double, but because of an accidental overthrow to Barbara on second, and a misjudgment of where to back-up second base, as Akko scrambles to chase the ball down, the girl had made it to second base with a threatening lead off towards third. Once she had the ball in hand, Akko walks the girl back to second base, ensuring she abandons her attempted lead before cautiously walking the ball to the pitcher's mound to hand off to Amanda.

Needless to say, she couldn't help but be embarrassed of her fumbled catch as she bites her lip and clenches her fist in aggravation while heading back to her position.

_Aagh! How did I miss that?! So much for showing everybody what I can do…_

_So much for function over flair, I wasn't even trying to be cool!_

She kicks at the ground beneath her as she aggressively makes herself a new foothold in the dirt.

_Come on. It's not over… I can make up for it… I'm not giving up yet._

"IT'S OKAY GIRLS! BRUSH IT OFF!" Coach Chariot yells, clapping her hands for morale. "LET'S END THIS INNING!"

"LET'S GO! YOU CAN HOLD THEM!" Diana belts, her voice cracking slightly at the volume.

_It's okay, everybody makes mistakes. You've got this, Akko._

Hearing Diana's voice in her ear, Akko takes a deep breath and refocuses on her breathing. She's tired, and she realizes that this is the first game all season that she's supposed to play for the ENTIRE seven innings. No way does she want to take a break, but she has to admit that she may have gotten used to her usual shift change allowing her to sit back and spectate.

_We can do this… we just need one out. If Amanda can strike this girl out we can get up to bat and make up those runs…_

She wipes away the sweat pooling at her brow, only succeeding in laying a fresh coat of dirt across her face.

_Just. Don't. Let. Them. Score. Again._

Her eyes look up at the number 2 on Amanda's back as she rolls her shoulders while wiping the dirt from the plate on the mound. The redhead pitcher takes a deep breath before clapping the ball to her glove and setting herself into motion.

In an instant, the girl at bat lowers herself and drops her bat horizontally.

"BUNT!" Hannah screams as she rushes forward into the field, the rest of the team following her lead.

As Akko moves forward, from the corner of her eye she sees the redhead on second (resembling a younger, slightly cross-eyed Chariot), begin taking off from the base.

Once the pitch is cast, the batter pulls her bat out of her bunt and watches as her teammate charges onward.

In the same moment the ball slaps into Constanze's glove, Akko screams her name and sprints alongside the girl attempting to steal third.

A little offset due to the batter in her line of sight, Constanze flings the ball towards the brunette in a low arc. As Hannah doubles back and charges to cover third base, Akko lunges forward, snatching the ball from the dirt before it has the opportunity to bounce up off the ground. From all fours, pushing off from her glove and kicking up a cloud of dirt, Akko jumps forward like a startled rabbit, stretching as far as she can in a desperate attempt to tag the redhead out. With the ball safely in her grasp, as though in slow motion, she sees her glove hit the Racers' leg mid-stride. Before she can question whether she had tagged the other girl before she could touch the base, any thoughts are knocked out of her mind by the heel of the running girl's cleat accidentally kicking her in the face.

The umpire calls the third out as the brunette is knocked back. She is only on the ground for a moment before rising from the dirt with a pained grin, holding her hand to her cheek.

"Yo Akko! Nice play! Yeeesh...You okay?" Amanda yells scrambling to her side as the rest of the team start running in.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Ow." The brunette says pulling her hand away from her cheek, a mixture of caked blood and dirt sticking to her palm. "Maan…"

"Nice…" Amanda grimaces at the bloody scrape streaked across the brunette's cheek. "Come on let's get you cleaned up."

Akko nods her head, stretching her jaw before jumping up to her feet surrounded by her relieved teammates.

"That was awesome Akko!" Lotte runs up to her and fixes her hat that had gotten knocked off center by the fall. "Ow, that looks painful."

"You really can't help but get yourself hurt, can you?" Sucy looks concernedly at her wound with a raised brow.

"It's not like I wanted to get kicked in the face!"

"Could have fooled me… you jumped right into her foot." Barbara says with a commending pat on the back.

"Honestly," Hannah huffs. "But nice job ending the inning. That was exhausting."

As she continues walking into the dugout surrounded by concerned and congratulatory comments from her teammates, she feels a punch to her arm before looking down and seeing Constanze holding up a raised hand and a wide smile.

"Good teamwork Conz!" With her non-bloodied glove hand, Akko meets Constanze's high-five and is rewarded with a satisfying slap.

"Ladies, you almost gave me a heart attack." Coach Croix worriedly comes up to the group stopping just before the shortstop and the catcher. "Great job getting the out, but that could have gone wrong on so many levels." She says pinching her nose before pointing directly to Akko. "And you." she says with an almost pleading tilt to her eyes, "Stop with the getting hit in the face. Okay? It's the last game. I do NOT want to rush you to the ER."

"S-sorry coach." The brunette looks down. She OBVIOUSLY didn't mean to get kicked in the face, but she supposes she  _must_  be doing something that puts her in perfect face-hitting position more often than most…

"Jesus christ…" Croix mumbles, taking a breath before looking over to the assistant coach coming down from the panic over her student getting hurt  _yet_   _again_. "She is literally you." She whispers just quiet enough for the brunette not to hear her.

Chariot blushes, nervously scratching the back of her head.

"Alright, Kagari, go clean yourself up. The rest of you, I want to see some runs! We're down by three with an inning and a half til it's over. Show 'em what you're made of."

"YES COACH!"

"Robinson, O'Neill, Antonenko, England! Gear up and get on deck!" Croix claps causing the girls to disperse through the dugout to prepare for their chance to get some points back.

Before Akko can make her way over to Diana, sporting a worried smile and a prepared first aid kit on her lap, she feels a hand rest on her shoulder. As she turns, she is met with Chariot smiling at her. "Nice hustle, Akko. While I'd like to see a little less blood, it's good to see your heart out there. Keep it up." She says with one last pat to the shoulder before jogging out to coach first base.

A wave of pride washes over her as she soaks in her idol's praise. She wouldn't let it get to her head… she's just still getting used to her inspiration being the one to cheer  _her_  on.

She looks back over towards the blonde and with a sheepish smile, heads towards her part of the bench.

Diana sighs, attempting to cover the blush as she sees her ribbon flowing gently behind the brunette as she approaches. "You truly are something else. How you manage to injure yourself so often and yet walk away just fine is beyond me." The brunette lowers herself to seat beside her, as she raises a wet cloth to dab at the bloody mess on her cheek. "I am thankful, but can you please try to be a little more conscious of your safety?"

"It's like you all think I do it on purpose," Akko pouts as she winces at the sting from the cloth on her wound. "I swear, it just kinda happens."

Diana hums with joking disbelief as she takes a closer look at the scrape on the side of the brunette's face. With one final wipe to clean the dirt and smeared blood out of the way, she is glad to determine that the wound is not nearly as bad as it looks. Sure, it will bruise and scab over, but as it appears, it can be easily covered by a medium sized bandaid.

"Well, aside from making my blood run cold, that play was executed quite well. Hold this and be still one moment," Diana smiles as she hands the cloth to the brunette before sifting through the kit on her lap.

"Well, thank you." Akko blushes as she continues to dab the cloth at her cheek. "I had NO idea what I was doing."

"Well, while you may not have thought so," The blonde says ripping a small packet of antiseptic before ushering Akko's cloth aside and applying the gel to the slightly bloody abrasion, "your body seemed to know just how to react to the situation. So with that logic, although you didn't plan on it, you were innately knowledgeable enough to know what to do."

"Or I just blindly threw myself at her so she wouldn't score…"

"I was attempting to give you the benefit of the doubt, but that is also a possibility..." The blonde shrugs as she reaches back into the box and delicately pulls at the tabs of a bandage. "Though I'm quite certain your knowledge of the sport is more likely."

The two share a smile before Diana looks down to the unicorn bandage in her hands. It seems as though the school had ordered a batch accidentally and is insistent on trying to use them up. They look ridiculous, but she supposes they still fulfill the intended purpose.

"You look good out there. I had been watching you from the Varsity field and I must say I'm impressed." Without a change in expression, Diana brings the bandage to her lips and chastely kisses its surface before laying it gently across the brunette's cheek.

Slightly red-faced from the Diana's unexpectedly innocent gesture, Akko can't bring herself to answer until the blonde's warm hands leave her face. "Y-you think? Heh…" The brunette clears her throat as she touches the bandage where the blonde's lips had met. "D-don't think I didn't see you over there! I saw that awesome catch a few innings in. You looked like total Varsity material... "She smiles brightly. "Did you guys win?"

Diana closes the first aid kit and sets it aside with a nod. "We had won by a few runs." She says with a smile. "While it was an enjoyable learning experience, I sorely missed our team's camaraderie. I would have liked to finish the season with my friends."

"Well, there's always next year!" The brunette grins, her unicorn band-aid scrunching from the movement. "Speaking of which," Akko pauses, "...after the season ends...can you help me practice some of those double plays you were doing at the last game? Like, how do you DO that? Like, the turning thing…" She begins slowly rotating in place attempting to mimic the action she was clearly having trouble wrapping her mind around.

"You want me to give you instruction on improving your performance for a position we will inevitably be competing for?" Diana cocks her head and raises her brow.

Akko stands half-turned, looking at her awkwardly.

_I didn't really think of it like that..._

The brunette looks over to the Varsity grade shortstop before sheepishly biting her lip and slowly nodding her head.

The blonde's questioning expression cracks into a loving smile before smoothing Akko's crinkled bandage with her thumb. "Of course, I would be happy to."

* * *

Before the Witches knew it they were back out on the field for the seventh inning. Their sixth at bat resulted in one run, putting them only two behind the Racers, however, as evidenced by the quick inning, the opponent team is showing no signs of growing tired.

Fortunately, the one run Amanda scored during the inning prior seemed to have awakened a second wind in her. Somehow, with a rejuvenated drive, the fiery redhead cleared the inning with two strikeouts and one assisted out at first without letting the Racers on base. With only three outs left in the entire game (unless they hit extra innings), the Witches go full throttle on cheering from the dugout as their final batters take the plate.

"LET'S GO BABE! YOU'VE GOT THIS!" Hannah belts from the dugout as Barbara steps out onto the field wringing her bat in her hands. A slight blush on her face from the pet name shouted loudly across the field, the raven-haired girl steps up to the batter's box with a growing heat in her chest and the desire to prove her girlfriend right.

"KNOCK IT OUT OF HERE BARBARA!" Diana shouts beside Akko shaking the dugout fence wildly.

"START US OFF STRONG PARKER!" Coach Croix yells between cupped hands.

Squaring her feet up at the plate and pulling her bat back, Barbara looks forward, her teal eyes focusing on the pitcher staring her down. The other girl rolls the ball in her hands, seemingly looking for just the right seams on its face, before dropping into her stance without a moment's notice and launching the ball towards the plate. Barbara's first swing results in the sound of the ball meeting the catcher's glove.

"IT'S OKAY BARBS! YOU CAN DO IT!" Avery yells over Mary and Jasminka chanting her name.

"HEY! BARBS! HANNAH SAYS SHE'LL LET YOU GET TO WHATEVER BASE YOU HIT TONIGHT! DOH!" Amanda keels over to the side as the bright pink auburn-haired girl gut punches her.

Barbara steps out of the batter's box to take a few practice swings and to recompose herself after hearing the hilarious wheeze that left Amanda's mouth as she doubled over. She liked Amanda… she really did. She didn't originally, but over time she found her presence almost comforting. However, without question, she would give anyone who recorded Hannah punching her (with audio) 100 bucks for a copy.

After regaining her focus, she steps up to the plate to await the next pitch. It comes just as quickly as the first, but this time around Barbara is ready.

With a loud  _ting,_ she takes off down the marked line watching as the ball flies just beyond second base and at the center fielder rushing to retrieve the hit. As she runs safely through the base, the Witches burst into loud cheers (minus Amanda who at the moment can only clap at her knees).

With a breathy smile she walks back to first base, receiving a high five from Coach Chariot. As she looks back up towards the dugout, she sees Hannah shouting and holding up her hands in a heart shape. She pulls her helmet down in an attempt to block the sun (also known as everyone's view of her blushing face), before mimicking the shape of her hands in response.

The cheers continue at an outstanding volume as Lotte makes her way towards the plate.

"HEY HEY! LO-TAY!" Akko screams coupled with clap incorporating dance moves. Despite stepping away just to insure she would not get smacked, Diana looks on in intrigue as she attempts to clap along to the sloppy cadence Akko is trying to set.

"YOU'VE GOT IT LOTTE!" Sucy cheers adding her own beat of supportive applause. "SHOW THEM WHAT YOU'VE GOT!"

The redheaded girl adjusts her helmet and rolls the bat in her hand before stepping up to the plate.

Just as she had the entire game, the pitcher releases the ball with an astounding speed straight for home.

Biting her bottom lip, Lotte watches the ball as it rockets towards her before quickly jumping backwards away from the extremely inside pitch.

"BALL!" The umpire yells as the redhead retakes her position at the plate and shuffles her feet.

"GOOD EYE LOTTE! YOU CAN DO IT!" Diana shouts as Akko continues with her chanting.

"KNOCK IT OUT OF THE PARK LOTTE!" Sarah cheers.

Cocking her bat back again, Lotte hones in on the pitcher dusting off the plate at the peak of the mound.

Her eyes look over to Coach Croix on third base making some tapping and dusting movements before raising and lowering the bill of her hat. With an almost invisible nod of confirmation, Lotte sets her jaw hoping she can pull the play off without incident. She glances over towards first base to see Coach Chariot with her hand to Barbara's ear filling her in on Croix's call. She sees the other Nightfall fan nod in understanding before beginning a lead off of first and shooting Lotte a subtle thumbs up.

The redhead takes a deep breath as she watches the pitcher ready her stance. As she churns through the windmill and releases the ball at breakneck speed, Lotte jerks herself downward angling the bat for a bunt. By the time the other team realizes, the ball bounces off the bat and rolls steadily towards the empty space between the pitcher and third baseman. Lotte takes off down the line with her head low and legs pumping as she watches the opponent first baseman stretch out for an incoming ball. She feels her foot touch rubber just a moment before hearing the sound of ball meeting glove.

"SAFE!"

"YEAH LOTTE!" Barbara yells from second base, trying to catch her breath from her sprint.

"WAY TO GO YANSON!" Coach Croix claps her hands from third base. "BEAUTIFULLY DONE!"

Lotte smiles from first base as she watches Akko go absolutely wild in the dugout alongside a revived Amanda. Akko's cheering halts once Sucy comes up to her and reminds her that she's on deck. In an instant the brunette turns in a panic, leaving Diana, and begins digging through her bat bag for her batting gloves.

"HEY HEY HEY! I SAY AMELIE VON BRAUNSCHBANK! YOU SAY ALBRECHTSBERGER!" Amanda shouts with accompanying claps. "AMELIE VON BRAUNSCHBANK!"

"ALBRECHTSBERGER!"

"AMELIE VON BRAUNSCHBANK!"

"ALBRECHTSBERGER!"

The small catcher shakes her head and rolls her eyes at her very loud teammates as she walks up to the plate with a humored pucker to her lips.

"LET'S GOOOOO CONSTANZE!" Akko cheers as she and Diana stand at the helmet bag making her selection.

"YOU'VE GOT IT CONZ!" Jasminka shouts shaking at the fence.

Setting her feet around the plate, Constanze squints her eyes in concentration as she pulls her back back with a swivel. With the shortest wind up of the game, the pitcher shoots the ball straight down the middle, and so with all she can muster, Constanze pivots and deflects the ball in a line drive.

The Witches' wild screaming goes silent as the sound of the ball smacking into leather echoes across the field. The opponent shortstop, the very same girl whose cleat Akko had gotten intimately acquainted with an inning earlier, miraculously snatches the ball out of the air and steps on second base before Barbara can dive back, suddenly leaving Lotte alone on first base with two outs.

"IT'S OKAY CONZ! THAT WAS A BITCHIN' HIT!" Amanda restarts the cheering as she watches a dirt covered Barbara trudge back to the dugout and Constanze reclaim her bat, frustratedly tapping its head into the dirt.

Akko's eyes widen at the sudden immense pressure falling on her shoulders as she prepares to head off to the plate with one out to go.

_Okay. It's okay. I just have to get on base. And then be careful. I just can't get out or its over. Oh god this is so bad._

It's then that she feels a familiar comforting hand rest on her shoulder. She looks timidly over towards cerulean eyes before being caught off guard by a quick peck on her non-bandaged cheek.

"Good luck. You're going to be great." Diana says with a quick squeeze to Akko's shoulder.

Akko's face takes on a blush and a silly smile from the VERY public, VERY displayed, and VERY affectionate action. "I-I'll try."

"I know you will." The blonde smiles before giving a light smack to the brunette's lower back pushing her towards the exit of the dugout. "Go, you've got this."

With each step Akko takes towards the plate a new set of butterflies take flight in her chest. The warm kind and the scared kind war for dominance over her lungs, but as she rings her bat in her hands she feels the warmth of determination take rule.

_I can do this. I can do this._

As she reaches the plate, she looks back towards the dugout bursting with cheers. Her eyes drift towards a bright red Diana she assumes to be due to the snickering Amanda beside her.

"HEY AKKO! COME ON GIRL!"

"BRING US BACK!"

"YOU CAN DO IT SEVEN!"

"LET'S GO KOKO!"

Akko flexes the handle of the bat in her hands before pulling it back over her shoulder and digging her feet into the pre-dug footholds beside the base.

_Come on. I can do this. I'm not gonna let us lose._

Red eyes meet the pitcher's as she turns the ball in her hands. The entire game, while the pitcher has been fast in every sense of the word, her throws had not been something Akko has been afraid of. She had actually been pretty lucky when it came to getting hits during this game, however, at this point, the Racers' fielding is what she is really worried about.

_I just… need to get to first and get Lotte to second. So, that means the best posi-_

In the middle of her thought she sees a yellow blur shoot past her stopping with the sound of the smack of the catcher's glove.

"STRIKE!"

_Crap._

"IT'S OKAY AKKO! NOW YOU SEE IT!"

"KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL!"

_Okay. Um um um. Just erm. Just hit it far. YEAH!_

"YOU CAN DO IT AKKO!"

The brunette re-shuffles her feet at the plate as she stretches her bat in front of her, gauging her reach.

_Okay. Focus. Just. Watch the ball._

Akko lets out a slow breath and watches as the pitcher goes through her motions. At its release, the ball comes flying towards her. With a quick tightening of her side and practiced pivot Akko swings the bat around her shoulders to be met with a loud  _ting_.

"FOUL!" The umpire calls as the ball flies up and behind the Witches dugout, stopping Akko's sprint halfway down the baseline.

_Crap crap crap!_

Akko fidgets her fingers as she walks back towards home plate and retrieves her bat.

_I've got one more shot. Come on! I can do this!_

"Come on Chilby, just end it already!" The redheaded shortstop calls from the field as she stretches her arms over her head.

"What do you think I'm doing Mir?" The pitcher replies irritatedly with a crack of her neck before focusing in on the catcher's mitt behind home.

Akko takes a deep breath as she feels a bead of sweat trail down her neck.

_Come on. Come on…_

The pitcher drops into motion, whirling the ball in a blurred windmill before rocketing it dead center of the strike zone.

_Come on. Come on. Come on!_

"YOU CAN DO IT AKKO!" She hears Diana yell before she pivots, throwing her arms forward, and dragging the bat to meet the ball.

_TING!_

The ball shoots forward in a cloud of dirt as it skips between the pitcher's legs and just out of reach of the diving shortstop.

Akko takes off in a lightning fast sprint down the first baseline, watching Lotte charge forward in between each bounce of her helmet. Lotte slides into second base a mere second before the left fielder makes the throw to the second baseman. As the umpire calls her friend safe, Akko leaps off of the rubber of first base with a celebratory pump of her fist.

_OH YEAH!_

"YEAH AKKO!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAA!"

"WAY TO GO DUDE!"

"GREAT JOB KAGARI! GREAT JOB!"

"ATTA GIRL AKKO!"

With a huge grin on her face, Akko jogs back to first base to be met with Coach Chariot excitedly patting her back. "Great hit Akko! Beautifully done!"

Panting through her smile she faces the dugout and locks eyes directly with Diana. As the blonde claps, howling cheers alongside the rest of their team, Akko reaches back behind her head and holds out the tail of the blue ribbon tied beneath her helmet.

The blonde shakes her head with a blush and a bright smile before resuming her cheering for Sucy as she walks up to the batter's box.

"LET'S GO SUCY!"

"YOU'VE GOT THIS!"

"YEAH SU-CY! GO SU-CY!"

"YOU'RE THE MAAAAN- BAVARAAAN!"

The pink-haired center fielder audibly groans as she drops her bat and looks back blankly at Amanda in the dugout. "That's a new one. Surprised it took until the last game to hear that one…"

"Well, I am full of surprises, my good friend!" The redhead yells leaning against the chain link fence. "NOW KICK SOME ASS!"

With a sigh, Sucy turns back towards the catcher and taps her bat head on the rubber of home plate.

"YOU CAN DO IT SUCY!" Akko shouts from first base as she fixes herself in a lunge towards second.

"TAKE YOUR TIME! YOU'VE GOT THIS!" Lotte yells with a clap.

The pink-haired girl cracks her neck from side to side, maintaining an almost zombie-like glare towards the pitcher who seemed to be slightly weirded out by the gaze. Narrowing her eyes and adjusting the lip of her helmet, Sucy squares her feet up to the plate and pulls her shoulder back.

Still rotating the ball in her hands, the pitcher moves forward and places her foot into position on the plate. Her fingers reach the laces she had been looking for and without a moment's hesitation her body drops into motion, bringing the ball around and releasing it with barely a sound.

This ball shoots past Sucy far quicker than she has grown accustomed to throughout the rest of the game.

It seems as though the pitcher has had enough of the close game dragging on and is quickly, in every sense of the word, trying to put a finish to it.

However, just as Sucy had been unprepared for the speed of the pitch, it appears the catcher had been equally surprised by its arrival.

The ball comes in fast and low, and before the catcher realizes it's there, the ball hits the ground behind the base, ricochets off her cleat, and rolls towards the back of the batting cage.

"GO GO GO!" Coach Croix shouts as she frantically motions for Lotte to run forward to steal third.

Lotte and Akko take off, powering down the baselines watching the Racers' catcher scramble to retrieve the ball. The catcher grabs the ball with her bare hand and leaps up looking between third and second with arm cocked back and ready to throw. Noting that the base runners are already too close to the bases to make a safe play, the catcher turns her attention to the pitcher and tosses the ball to her with a frustrated glare.

Within the dugout, the Witches cheer so wildly that anyone trying to listen would find difficulty attempting to decipher a single word from the jarring racket.

Through greedy breaths, Akko grins brightly from relief, excitement, and the overwhelming energy coming from her friends in the dugout.

_Okay. We can do this. If Sucy can get a double we can tie the game! I just have to make sure not to get tagged out._

_We can do this. Just stay focused._

"Cute bandaid you've got there."

Unfamiliar with the voice, Akko looks up meeting the eyes of the redheaded shortstop she had tagged out earlier as she points to her face.

"I'm sorry about that." The girl says scratching the back of her head with a sheepish smile. "It really was an accident."

"No yeah, I know. No worries. Heh heh." Akko lets a small smile pull at her cheeks at the sportsmanship of the other girl. "I wasn't really expecting to actually catch you. You're really fast."

"Yeah, it was a lucky tag." She says dismissively before, as though a switch had been flipped, the friendly smile on the girl's face turns cruel. "Just like you getting this far."

The redheaded girl stalks away and lowers herself into position further along the baseline leaving Akko stunned by how quickly her demeanor had changed. In her processing she nearly misses the sound of the umpire calling Sucy's second strike before returning the ball to the pitcher.

_Oh crap… This girl's gonna HURT me._

_Oh god, Sucy please don't hit it over here!_

_Hmm… she doesn't seem that tall, maybe I'd be able to jump over her…_

_Nah..._

Akko resets her stance, setting her foot against the side of the base like a running block and with a shake of her head to get herself refocused, she takes a deep breath to fill her lungs.

"COME ON SUCY! SHOW 'EM WHAT YOU'VE GOOOOT!" She shouts with all her might.

The pink-haired girl steps out of the batter's box and taps her bat to her cleat before taking a few practice swings. She looks up the third baseline towards Coach Croix and Lotte as she lunges forward from the base.

"YOU CAN DO IT SUCY!" The redhead yells with a smile as she wipes away some of the residual dirt from the lens of her goggles.

A small grin spreads across the pale-girl's face as she grumbles to herself. "If you say so..."

To the sound of the Witches hollering words of support for what could very well end as final pitch of the game, Sucy takes a deep breath and readjusts herself beside the plate. She cocks her bat backward, swiveling it loosely in her hands as she watches the pitcher move into her windmill.

The ball, a yellow blur, highlights the edges of the pitcher's reach before being given freedom from her hand to drive closer and closer to the cold aluminum of an angry bat or the warm cushion of a tired glove.

It is rewarded the former.

Sucy drags her bat around with an astounding speed and at the  _ting_  of connection the ball flies through the air, higher and higher, farther and farther, all the way over the mesh fence barrier at the back of center field.

The field is silent. As Sucy jogs down the first base line, both Witches and Racers turn their heads to the home run hit still bouncing along the grass beyond reach.

"HOLY FUCK SUCY!" Akko roars as the rest of the Witches follow her lead with deafening rallying cries and applause.

The three girls round the bases to the sound of frantic cheering. The second the pink-haired girl touches home plate, ensuring their victory, she braces herself for the impact of the screaming 5'3" brunette and the 5'1" redhead diving straight onto her.

The rest of the Witches flood out of the dugout and jump into the mass group embrace, every one of them red-faced from yelling.

Jostled by what seems like the five hundredth pat on the back, Sucy pushes herself out of the group of her excitement drunk teammates, managing to get only a single breath of oxygen before being pulled back in.

A short time later, throats sore and exhausted from cheering, the girls break from their pile on top of home plate and line up to say "good game" to the Racers. Despite being met with lackluster, undoubtedly not heart-felt sportsmanship from the other team, the Witches carry themselves, buzzing with adrenaline, to the heart of left field for their final post-game talk.

Throwing themselves in the grass, high on their victory, the girls chatter on with accolades of impressive plays and close calls before the coaches manage to quiet them down.

As Diana sits, Akko hops into her lap and quickly pecks her cheek (for revenge) before facing forward. The blonde, hard pressed to tame the smile on her lips, relents and wraps her arms around the girl's waist like a belt before resting her chin on her shoulder. Amanda scoots down beside them wrapping an arm around the two soon followed by the rest of their friends huddling in close.

"First off," Croix begins before holding up the game ball. "While so many of you had such incredible plays this game, the final ball of the season is going to Miss Sucy Manbavaran for outstanding fieldwork and hitting the living  _hell_  out of it to win this game. Beautifully done, kid." The girls clap and hoot as the lilac-haired coach tosses the ball (retrieved by Varsity spectators during their celebration) to the pink-haired girl trying to mask the pride pulling at her lips.

"And congratulations to all of you for putting up one hell of a fight against those girls. That was not an easy game and you girls played excellently. That is what we look for when we ask for teamwork, so great job." The older woman smiles before scratching the back of her head. "Now, I know we've already gone over this enough to choke on… but you girls have made us so proud to be your coaches this year. While some of you fell on the first day and continue to fall on the last…" Some girls giggle as teal eyes hone in on Akko, seemingly late to register it is  _her_  she's talking about. "...every single one of you have demonstrated your promise and drive to improve and excel regardless of the odds or the opponent. I may be just a year or two older than you," the older woman's joke is met by a few snorts, "but I have found myself inspired by your growth and passion."

Croix's eyes turn somber as she sniffs and clears her throat. "I'm going to miss you girls greatly… we both are." She says looking over to Chariot who matches her saddened gaze. "Now…" she clears her throat again trying to ward away the moisture welling in her eyes, "I know… rather… I hope... I will see you girls again next year through school or at tryouts. However, seeing as how you have grown so drastically over these last few short months, I would not be surprised to see you under Nelson's instruction come next season. No matter where you end up next year, I would like for you girls to remember that this team... while it may mean more or less to some than to others, is a family. This experience you had was with one another, and regardless of the futures you lead, you will always have this to tie you together." Croix clears her throat and coughs again before turning away and raising her hand to her watering eyes. "Ch-Chariot, do you have anything to add?"

The assistant coach smiles softly at her  _once again_ choked up fiancé before looking around at the thirteen girls with varying levels of red noses and pinched lips.

"I believe you've covered just about everything." She pats Croix's back to help her 'cough' before continuing. "Though, I would like to restate that it has been a pleasure working with all of you girls. You should be proud of what you've learned and achieved this season and I hope you never forget the heart and belief you found in yourself and each other during your time with us. And I hope that you are able to think back as fondly on this experience as I know I will." Soft red eyes scan the group of girls starting to rub at their noses.

_I suppose I should wrap this up..._

"And lastly, thank you for making this year special and keeping the spirit of the Luna Nova Witches strong. It has been an honor to be here with you." Coach Chariot pauses for a moment, marking the end of her speech, before taking a breath and clapping her hands together to ward away the bittersweet cloud descending around them.

"I believe that's it. Alright girls, what do you say?" Chariot smiles as she and Croix (once finished wiping her eyes) throw their hands forward one last time. The girls scramble to their feet before meeting their coach's hands in the middle.

Laying her hand on top of Diana's and intertwining her fingers amongst the pile, Akko smiles tearfully up into misty cerulean eyes. The blonde blinks and breaks into a toothy grin before lowering her head, gently butting her forehead against the brunette's.

"OKAY!" Chariot calls out, before the group of girls commence with the count.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"WITCHES!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more guys! I know this is a long one, but I hope you like it and I hope you like what I have coming up next for the final chapter!


	27. Epilogue: The Final Score

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite the end of the season coming and going, the Luna Nova Fastpitch Witches get one last chance to say goodbye to their uniforms for the make-up date of their team photo.

 

"Akko! Lotte! Sucy! HEYYYY!"

The three girls search through the large courtyard filled with various Luna Nova sports team uniforms. It takes a moment to find the source of the calling voice until at last they settle their eyes on Amanda's waving arms as she stands beside a cheery Jasminka and a drowsy looking Constanze.

"Wangari said our picture's getting' done over here! Come on!" The redhead shouts over the crowd buzzing with conversation.

Despite it being 7am on a Saturday, Akko enthusiastically pulls Lotte and Sucy along towards the rest of their friends. Just the idea of seeing everybody together in uniform again is enough to make her giddy.

While it has only been a couple weeks since their last game, and she still sees all of her friends throughout the school day, there has been something sad about not getting to see everyone in their uniforms again for practice. So, when the yearbook committee had told them the rescheduled date for their team photograph would have to take place after the end of the season due to being rained out during the original date, Akko had found herself looking forward to being able to stand together donning their colors as one one last time.

But now that the day has come, that morning as she pulled her uniform over her head and laced her belt around her waist, she had gotten hit by the bittersweet realization that the feeling of the jersey fabric on her skin reminded her of a warm hug before a farewell. After today, only the longing memories of dirt stained pants will work to brighten her spirits from the cold promise of final exams.

Sure, she could still wear the uniform (it's not like she can return it with her last name all over it), but without the context of actually playing softball it would be a little weird... right?

Despite the melancholy weight sitting on her heart, with a beaming smile she leads Lotte and Sucy towards their friends, savoring the moment of jogging through the sea of navy and maroon to keep safe in her memory.

"Good morning!" Akko says cheerily as she hops to a stop in front of the other three girls. Lotte and Sucy follow behind with tired smiles and slightly less enthusiasm.

Constanze waves her hand while taking a sip of her coffee as Jasminka wishes them a good morning and offers a tiny peeled orange to the three. Lotte accepts it with a soft 'thank you'.

"Yo," Amanda groans, stretching her arms above her head prompting her shoulders to pop. "It's too damn early for this. Couldn't they have made this a little bit later?"

"We used to get up this early for practice… and every day for school." Sucy yawns.

"Still, it's Saturday. They didn't HAVE to make this at the ass crack of dawn…" Amanda whips her head to the side, cracking her neck. "Ughhh… doesn't it feel weird being in uniform without having a glove on you? Man, I didn't think I'd say it, but I kinda miss choking on dirt and doing laps."

"I know what you mean…" Lotte says as she breaks the orange into segments, handing a piece to an appreciative Sucy. "I mean, not that so much has changed, but it's really strange not having practice anymore. I feel like I have so much time now."

"Speak for yourself." Akko sighs as she takes an offered orange slice and pops it in her mouth. "Since finals are coming up, Diana's been making me study with her like crazy. Heck, it's like I only get the chance to relax when I go to the gym…"

"Welp, s'what you get for dating the top nerd in the school. At least you have less of a chance of failing." Amanda shrugs as Akko looks at her, wanting to, but not really able to contest Amanda's dig on her girlfriend's 'top nerd' status. "Speaking of which, where is blondie? Didn't think you'd get here before she did." She says looking around the dozens of uniform clad girls across the courtyard before snorting. "Don't think she's Caven-ditching, do you?"

Akko and Sucy look over at the redhead giggling at her own joke with unfiltered disgust.

"No," Akko sighs before distractedly sweeping her eyes over the courtyard in search of the blonde. "She should be here soon. I… think she said she'd be coming with Hannah and Barbara."

"Is that so?" A mischievous smirk crosses the redhead's face as she pulls her phone from her back pocket. "In that case... before the fun police get here, I'm gonna try prank calling Finnelan again. Now's your chance at redemption!"

"NOPE! NOPE THANK YOU!" Akko's eyes tear away from the large crowd and focus anxiously on the redheaded girl tapping at her phone screen. "Amandaaa… I don't want to be a part of iiit!

"Come on! She's got my voice burned into memory, so I can't do it. It'll be hilarious. I have it up. Ready?"

"Amanda waiiiit!" Akko dives for the phone trying to knock it out of the taller girl's hands.

As the two of them fight for possession over the phone, the rest of the girls move a safe distance away from flailing limbs before seeing their coaches approaching from across the courtyard.

"Hello girls!" Coach Chariot waves with a smile as she and Croix walk over towards their grouping. "It's nice to see you all back in uniform."

"Morning Coach!" Lotte, Sucy, and Jasminka say with a smile as Constanze responds with a wave and another sip of coffee.

"What's going on over there?" Croix asks pointing towards the scene of Akko currently climbing up Amanda's back and pulling on her hair.

"They're trying to get signal…" Sucy says not at all convincingly. Croix simply meets her eye laying the look of disbelief on thick.

"Akko's trying to stop Amanda from prank calling Finnelan." Sucy relents.

"Oh is she now?" Croix's eyes turn entertained as a grin spreads across her face before Chariot elbows her in the side. "Ahh ah fine. I mean we...can't have that…"

Croix strides over and plucks the phone from the distracted redhead's hand prompting the two girls to freeze and look up at her in surprise.

"Oh wait, Coach! Shit. I think I—"

"O'Neill, do you know how much trouble—"

" _Hello? Who on Earth is…? Meridies is that you?"_ The sound of a groggy and agitated Finnelan bursts from the speaker of the phone.

The lilac haired woman's eyes go wide as she looks in panic at the two girls with lips sealed tight.

_Uhh,, come on Meridies…Think quick! Think quick!_

Quickly gathering herself, the head coach turns the phone off of speaker mode and with an almost robotic tone responds— "I'm sorry, your call did not go through, please hang up and try your call again" and hits the end call button before the raucous laughter of the two girls watching can reach the receiver.

With a sigh and mentally checking off a box on her bucket list, Croix fixes the red headed girl a stern look before returning her phone. "Don't. Do that again. Got it?" Her eyes then turn sly as she leans in so her fiancé can't hear her, "Especially not before the sun comes up." She adds with a wink before straightening herself and walking back towards Chariot.

As she leaves the two girls coming down from their fit of poorly concealed laughter, Chariot fixes her with disapproving glance. "I heard that... You are a terrible influence."

Croix raises her hands defensively and feigns surprise. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Croix…"

"Whaaat? She's a good kid… it's just a little harmless fun. Besides," she mumbles, "Finnelan's gonna have her same  _cheery_  disposition whether she's woken up by a phone call at 4:30 in the morning or at noon."

Red eyes squint at teal before Chariot's stern expression cracks with the sound of muted chuckle and the shake of her head. Croix smiles, content with the little victory of negating her scolding as Chariot lightly shoves her shoulder.

"Why didn't you just hang the phone up?" Chariot asks through a giggle.

"That… would have been far too suspicious…" Croix says averting her eyes away, although, at this point she was sure her fiancé can tell that the little phone interaction had succeeded in making her day.

"Hey hey hey! Wait a sec!" The two look up towards Amanda as she holds up her left hand and wiggles her fingers. "When were you gonna tell us you guys were getting  _hitched!_?"

Both older women take on a shade of pink as Jasminka and Constanze look on with raised brows and Lotte grabs onto a barely phased Sucy's arm with an excited gasp.

Croix and Chariot look at one another nervously before the assistant coach and shrugs her shoulders, accepting that there is no longer a point of keeping their relationship a secret.

They had tried to keep their engagement quiet. While it had been simple during the season because they would remove their rings for practices, since the season had ended, it had easily become second nature to slip them on in the morning. As everyone looks down at the matching bands around their fingers, evidently, this morning had not been an exception.

Croix caps her blush before clearing her throat and crossing her arms. "We were planning on it when our personal lives became  _any_  of your business, O'Neill."

"Oh come on! It's great! We're happy for you guys!" She beams as Jasminka and Constanze nod their heads happily. "We've been shipping you two since day one!"

"Shi-?" Croix pinches her brows together. "What on Earth does  _that_  mean?"

As Amanda mortifies the head coach with every word further convincing her that their entire team had more or less been imagining her and Chariot in less than scholarly positions, Akko watches with mild secondhand embarrassment as her English teacher tries to melt into the ground beneath her feet.

During the party at the cafe following their last game— aside from a dance rematch between Amanda and Hannah, a beautiful duet by Avery and Lotte, and an off-pitch rendition of 'Everytime We Touch' that Barbara had practically dragged Diana up to perform with her (MUCH to their girlfriends' and Amanda's amusement—she had secretly taken a video recording), Akko had gotten a little time to talk with her idol.

Since their talk in the locker room, Coach Chariot had been taking steps to confront her past so she's ready to move on with her future.

A short time before their last game, she and Croix had gone to Polaris University to watch a Bears game and while in attendance, she had been able to catch up with her old coaches. Much of her worry put to rest by their assured support and nostalgic reminiscing, Chariot had taken the press snapping pictures of her with her old coach in stride and prepared for the possibility of a conversation about her disappearance in the media.

While nothing had popped up in the mainstream sports world yet, her Alma Mater had written a small article in the school paper to accompany the photograph, and so, making the first mention of Chariot DuNord coming back above ground.

In order to help her transition back into the sunlight, Croix had presented the idea of her being the figurehead of a charity (or as she calls it, a "Chariot-y", earning an exhausted glare from her fiancé every single time), to earn money for kids suffering from athletic related injuries to help them get low cost and effective prosthetics made (by her) and help reacquaint them to sports.

By Croix's logic, at the very least it could associate a new image to Chariot's name; at most, her story could help and inspire others to overcome their obstacles of circumstance just as she had.

Heart welling at the thought of her idol working to make a difference to others as she did for her in a new way, Akko had practically leapt over the cafe table to wrap her teacher in a hug after hearing the explanation as to the timing and why she decided to come out about her past to the rest of the team.

Ever since, Akko had been paying very close attention in class to the bright red roots steadily growing in at her teacher's hairline as she slowly reclaims her identity as Chariot DuNord.

Akko smiles noting the red peeking out from beneath her coach's cap before turning her head to the sound of Hannah and Barbara's voices approaching from across the courtyard.

"No, yeah, I'm absolutely okay with that." Barbara says expressively nodding her head as she and Hannah walk hand in hand beside Diana.

"See? Come on Diana. It's like… karma." The auburn-haired girl pleads.

"It is highly immature." Diana says as she looks up from their conversation, a bright smile growing on her face at the sight of her girlfriend waving excitedly at her. "That behavior merely puts us in equal standing, do you wish to degrade yourself to her level?"

"Ahh, fine. You don't have to do it..." Hannah pouts. "I thought dating Akko would have made you more fun..."

"Pardon me," Diana turns back to them with a shadow of hurt in her eyes. "I am… fun. I just don't deem petty vengeance as a viable form of it…"

Not expecting to have offended her, Hannah and Barbara immediately start waving the comment away with their hands. "I mean yeah…of course you're fun...but…"

"I am not opposed if it is earned…" The blonde counters defensively.

"And she hasn't?" Barbara looks at her with a quirked brow.

Face scrunched in conflict, Diana looks at her and bites her bottom lip. She quickly schools her expression as she notices Akko jogging towards them with a questioning look.

"We shouldn't…" The blonde whispers, the statement coming out of her mouth with little conviction.

Hannah and Barbara, sensing her wavering resolve, pressure her with narrowed eyes.

Attention stuck in their hold, Diana bites at the inside of her cheek before having the trance broken by shining eyes and a bouncing ponytail.

"Hey guys!" Akko bounds up to them throwing her arms around Diana who unthinkingly holds out her own to accommodate. "What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing Akko." Barbara hums, satisfied with the progress of the seed planted in the blonde's mind. "You're awfully…awake."

"Yeah, who gave you coffee?" Hannah teases.

As Akko rolls her eyes with a humored tilt of her lips, she feels Diana's hand move from around her back and travel down her arm.

Slipping her hand into the brunette's and slowly interlocking their fingers, with a warm smile Diana looks down allowing cerulean to meet crimson. "Good morning." She says softly.

"Good morning." Akko says just as softly, blushing as she returns the smile with a squeeze of her hand.

"Welp." Barbara says popping the 'p' with an awkward smile, "Weeeee'll be heading over to everybody else now…"

"Guess we'll see you over there." Hannah waves with her free hand as the two of them begin walking away. "Diaanaaa~" she sing songs with a raised brow insisting one last time that the blonde reconsider her previous standpoint.

"No…" The blonde says curtly, still not convincing enough for the hazel eyed girl.

"Suit yourself~" Hannah continues to sing as she begins rolling her wrist.

Akko looks between the retreating couple and her girlfriend before cocking her head curiously. "What was that about?"

"I... promise to tell you later…" The blonde sighs, relieved that the conversation with her best friends had taken a hiatus. She isn't quite sure how much more convincing she would have needed to succumb to their request.

"Like...maybe over breakfast?" Akko looks up at the blonde hopefully, pulling cerulean eyes to meet her own with the tilt of her head. Akko shrugs her shoulders as she takes a nervous gulp. "There's this place in Blytonbury Frank told me about and I was thinking... _maybe_  if you weren't busy after the picture…I could um...take you there...and you know… we could have a breakfast date. You know… if you want."

Any conflict she had been feeling due to Hannah's plea vanishes as Diana watches Akko begin to scratch at herself anxiously. It's been about a month and she still gets as nervous asking her to go out as she had on their first date. She found it adorable.

Her warm smile making its way back onto her lips, Diana lifts her hand and brushes a blonde hair from beneath her hat back behind her ear. "I'd love that, Akko."

An unnecessary relief washes over the brunette as she nervously giggles herself into a smile. "Y-Yeah? Cool. He said he thinks we would like it...Oh! And Andrew said that they have really  _really_  good chocolate chip pancakes!"

"Oh, do they?" Diana's eyebrows fly up towards the brim of her hat, an amused smile on her face as she tries to imagine her (admittedly less stuffy than she gives him credit for) older cousin ordering chocolate chip pancakes for a meal.

The two continue on in conversation for a short while until they see a bright flash of light from a slight distance away.

They look over to see Wangari laughing, Kimberly, the journalism head scribbling feverishly onto a notepad, and Joanne abruptly redirecting her camera  _away_  from them as Amanda, surrounded by several of their teammates, talks animatedly.

"…So they crash into each other, Akko lands flat on her back, right? And then Diana falls on top of her right between her legs, pinning her and getting two handfuls of sports bra." She cups her hands as she regales the event. "The absolute  _height_  of lesbian fantasy run-ins. Let me tell you, it was the greatest thing I've  _ever_  seen. And then Diana-"

"Excuse me, what is going on here?" A bright red Diana storms over, interrupting before Amanda can say anymore. As she turns to look at the yearbook committee trying to school their humored expressions, she catches a glimpse of the scrawled title 'In the Diamond of Hearts' at the top of Kimberly's notepad.

"Ah, Diana!" Wangari smiles. "Amanda was just telling us a few stories to help us with an editorial for the school newspaper about how your and Akko's blossoming relationship came to be. Finding love on the field is so romantic and is sure to be a hot sell!"

"Wait, what's going on?" Akko, a little late to the conversation, asks as she follows after Diana into the group of girls.

Joanne snaps another picture of the two girls standing next to each other, momentarily blinding them with the flash of the camera.

"I apologize," Diana addresses Wangari and her group as she blinks away the afterimage of the camera flash dancing in her eyes, "While we are not hiding our relationship, I am by no means comfortable with our personal lives being published in the school paper. So, we would both appreciate it if you did not broadcast Amanda's exaggerated retelling." She says shooting the redhead with a biting glare.

"That is a shame." Wangari sighs as Kimberly frustratedly closes her notepad. "I think it would have made a good story..." With barely a second of difference, the orange haired girl claps her hands together and gets back to business. "Anyway! Coaches! Is everybody from JV Softball here?"

Croix does a quick headcount of all the girls, counting 13 in total. "Looks like it!"

"Excellent!" Wangari smiles before stepping aside for Joanne to take the reins.

"Alright everyone! Set up over here facing the sun." The photographer says pointing over towards an open section of field. "Make two rows, the front row kneeling in front of the back. Coaches, stand to the sides of the back row."

After a few last-minute straightening ups of hair and uniforms, the girls follow the photographer's instructions and settle themselves into rows. Amanda, who has been deemed less capable of mischief while kneeling front and center, was joined on the ground by Hannah and Barbara on one side and Diana and Akko on the other. A nervous chuckle leaves her throat as Diana sits herself directly beside her.

"Sorry 'bout that, I didn't think it was that big of a deal since you two are all... y'know,  _exclusive_ and whatnot." Amanda whispers to the blonde staring forward with an almost eerie calm.

Just as quietly, Diana responds, "While that may be true, that is hardly reason to offer the details of our relationship before there even was a relationship."

"Hey, they asked. I was merely sharing the beautiful love story of two softball gays."

With a sigh, Diana rolls her eyes. "What stories were you telling them?"

"Don't worry, just the stuff that happened at practice… you know, that everybody  _already_  saw." She whispers as she lightly bumps the blonde's shoulder. "Come on Dee, it's not like I'd tell them anything about the carwash or..."

Amanda's eyes go wide as she turns to look towards the blonde and sees the brunette staring and listening intently at her from over Diana's shoulder.

_Oh...shit._

"Wait... what happened at the carwash?" Akko asks looking confusedly between Amanda and Diana as the blonde spins around to look at the brunette in alarm. At Akko's question and Diana's abrupt reaction, the undivided attention of the yearbook committee and the rest of the team turns onto them with ill-concealed curiosity.

Soapy legs and a red bikini bottom flash across Diana's mind as her face takes on a violent shade of pink.

"O-oh….um… you don't remember?!" Amanda sweats as she tries to diffuse the result of her slip-up. "The um… After! At the cafe. Diana bought you that drink after you spilled yours, right?"

_Come on come on come on!_

With a slight blush, remembering that just a few minutes prior to the blonde presenting her with a new coffee she had first realized that she had a crush, Akko takes the bait and affectionately bumps Diana's shoulder. "Thank you again for that…" She smiles warmly at the blonde before returning her attention to Joanne and Wangari redirecting themselves back to the job at hand.

"It was my pleasure." Diana quickly recovers before turning her still red face towards Amanda. The redhead merely gives her an awkward smile before leaning in and whispering in her ear.

"If just thinking about that bathing suit gets you so hot, you sh-"

"Amanda… don't say another word."

The pitcher's eyes turn sly, "I'm just saying… if they somehow go  _missing..._."

"I would never!" The blonde sputters quietly as she pulls away from Amanda. The redhead, proud of the glowing blush across Diana's face, winks at her before turning her smug face towards the camera.

Diana, on the other hand, looks past Amanda and finds Hannah's eyes looking amusedly back at her. With a cool steely glint in her irises contrasting the heated red of her cheeks, Diana simply nods her head at the auburn-haired girl, accepting her earlier request and causing her friend to break into a wide canine showcasing grin.

"OH!" Akko suddenly slaps her legs. "That reminds me! Constanze! I forgot to give you back your shirt! I'll bring it in on Monday, okay?" From behind her, she hears the catcher hum, unconcerned on whether she gets the shirt back or not.

"Okay girls!" Wangari yells as she stands behind Joanne as she focuses her camera. "Hold your conversations and face forward! Let's get clickin'!"

"You heard her ladies, hush up." Croix says standing on the edge of her team. "O'Neill, I want your hands folded in front of you, got it?" She adds sternly as she looks through the group at the redhead.

As she's come to learn over the last few months and due to the reputation that precedes her, Croix has come to the conclusion that it would not be beneath Amanda to ruin the picture doing something akin to bunny ears to her teammates. Especially now seeing that Hannah and Diana are at her sides, oh, she can just tell if she leaves the redhead to her own devices, it could prove to be a recipe for disaster.

_Yup, let's nip that one in the bud RIGHT now..._

Amanda throws her hand to her chest as she looks over her shoulder at her coach. "I am offended! What do you think I'd do Coach?"

"Only you have that creative of a mind O'Neill, I don't think you need me to give you any ideas."

With a roll of her eyes and a disappointed yet understanding smile on her face, Amanda turns to face forward making a big show of slapping her folded hands into her lap.

"Okay ladies! Are you all ready?" Wangari says looking over them all. "Sucy, come on! Get that hair out of your beautiful face."

"No."

"Ve~ry well~" The yearbook head sings before refocusing and commenting on the rest of the team.

With some last-minute leg stretches before settling into a kneel, and some already working on their practice smiles, the girls shift into their final positions.

Hannah and Diana share one last glance before determinedly facing forward, innocent smiles already plastered across their faces.

"Looks good." Joanna calls out as she looks through her eyepiece, her camera ready to shoot.

"Okay!" Wangari calls out, stepping behind the photographer. "Everybody! Witches on three!"

"One!"

"Two!"

Hannah and Diana pull their hands back. Their intended trajectory set on the seat of Amanda's pants.

"Three!"

"WITCHES!"

_SLAP!_  * _click*_

 

 

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is a wrap guys! HOOOOLY CRAP.
> 
> First off, I would like to note a little easter egg: The title of Kimberly's editorial, 'In the Diamond of Hearts', was the original name for this story before I decided on more of a comical tone direction. So... there's that... I am happy I was able to make mention and leave that as a little homage to the very beginning.
> 
> I want to thank you all so much from the bottom, top, middle, front, behind, and side of my heart for taking the time to read this goofy little story that started out as a post-it note doodle of Diana in a baseball cap. Being that this was my first attempt at a long-fic, since the beginning, I have been so thankful and blown away by all of your kind words and support for this story- it's honestly really sad to see it come to an end, but man, you guys pushed me to continue until the very last word. (TBH it was chapter 5 where I looked at my outline and went "wtf, how the hell am I going to do this?" and from every chapter onward I'm not really sure how it got written, just that I enjoyed it week to week.) It was fun digging into old high school softball memories, the gay ones (when I didn't realize my sexuality- NOW IT ALL MAKES SENSE!), the game anxiety (I couldn't hit for squat), the rush of cheering and sweating with a whole bunch of people (not that my experience was nearly as friendly as what it was in this story), and ultimately just overall playing softball (I didn't realize just how much I missed it...), so I hope you enjoyed the little pinches of some of the most awkward memories I had experienced and I hope anyone who has had like experiences thought back fondly on them.
> 
> There are a few people I would like to make a quick shout-out to: omaomae, veramoray, onhiro, worldsinwords, tibbsgirl, myrtenasterrose. You guys have been such an inspiration to me. Thank you for your kindness, support, writing help, talks, and overall camaraderie within the Little Witch Academia fandom. While each and every comment or message in tags left me feeling like a goober smiling at my phone notifications, you guys and your work really helped push this forward until the end. I never thought I would write fan fiction (and post it), but if I had not I may not have had the opportunity to meet you amazing people, and for that I am obscenely grateful. You guys keep being outstanding. (AND EVERYONE GO CHECK THEM OUT, THEY ARE AMAZING)
> 
> Thank you all again for reading Bats and Brooms (and checking out the bits of art each week!)
> 
> I am truly thankful for every one of you who took the time to read this story and I hope you got a couple laughs and enjoyed this guilty pleasure story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> I'm not sure what's coming up next, but I will see ya'll next time!
> 
> With love,
> 
> -Superevilbadguy


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